France will square off against Germany on Tuesday night in their Euro 2020 campaign, but apparently with some darkening of the skies above as rumors of a rift within the camp threaten to derail their preparations.
Paul Pogba has quickly moved in to dispel rumors of the alleged rift developing between Oliver Giroud and Kylian Mbappe within the France camp after the former’s pointed message towards the PSG striker.
Giroud came off the bench following an injury to Karim Benzema during Les Bleus’ final warm-up game for Euro 2020, with the Chelsea striker immediately making a resounding impact, scoring twice as the pre-tournament favorites ran out 4-0 winners.
However, despite his brace, Giroud was left visibly frustrated, seemingly taking aim at Mbappe for not being picked out as he made runs.
“I was a little quiet because, sometimes, I make runs and the balls aren’t forthcoming,” Giroud explained.
“I am not saying that I always make the best runs but I am seeking to offer solutions in the box.”
Subsequent reports in France have emerged claiming that the Parc-des-Princes superstar was riled by Giroud’s comments and was prompted to release a statement to the press to clear the issue but the motion was reportedly denied by manager Didier Deschamps, who quickly attempted to cool down any tensions.
“If you received the ball after each time you called for it, it is always the same,” he said.
“The attacker says: ‘I am making runs, but it’s on the midfield.’ The midfielders will say that it is on the attackers. Sometimes, the pass isn’t forthcoming, sometimes it is down the movement. But this is not a stigmatization of Kylian or whoever.”
Deschamps is anxious to maintain a united squad as they hope to replicate the victorious feats of the France team from the turn of the century when he captained the team to win the World Cup in 1998, before going on to win the European Championship two years later.
The France coach’s anxiety now is that reports of a rift could possibly lead to a repeat of Raymond Domenech’s infamous 2010 squad being dumped out in the group stages amid major rifts that had developed then between the players.
Anyway, ahead of their opening match with Germany in Munich, Paul Pogba has now backed up Deschamps’ comments, claiming that Giroud’s comments may have been misconstrued.
When queried on ill feelings within the squad, Pogba said: “No, the only tension is on the back and legs!
“There is always a great atmosphere with everyone. Between Olivier and Kylian, there is nothing. Or at least there has been nothing in front of me.
“Maybe what was said was conveyed incorrectly.
“Kylian passes everyone, I don’t think Olivier’s message was that one. There is nothing at all.”
Adding to that, Pogba went on to talk about Benzema being back in the France squad for the first time since 2015, warning their Euro 2020 rivals that they are a much stronger outfit than the one which won the World Cup in Russia three years ago.
He added: “For sure we have a group of world class players and we added another big weapon, Karim Benzema.
“Everybody knows it. For sure with Karim Benzema the team automatically becomes stronger (than the 2018 World Cup).”