Champions France ‘have lot of respect’ for World Cup rivals Denmark
Doha (AFP) – France coach Didier Deschamps said the defending champions have “a lot of respect” for Denmark after the teams were drawn in the same World Cup group on Friday.
“You have to have a lot of respect,” said Deschamps. “They are the 11th-ranked FIFA team, semi-finalists at the Euros and if they are ahead of Germany and the Netherlands, it proves the quality of this team.”
France and Denmark will be familiar rivals as they also meet in the Nations League in June and September before the World Cup starts in November.
“I don’t know if it’s ideal,” said Deschamps. “They too will have the advantage of knowing us even better, even if these two meetings, one in June, one in September in the Nations League, are not the same thing.”
The teams met in the 2002 World Cup when Denmark shocked the defending champions 2-0 in South Korea, a defeat which meant an embarrassing first-round exit for the French.