France Must Take Chances Against Morocco, Says Deschamps

France manager Didier Deschamps has called on his players to improve their finishing ahead of Thursday’s FIFA World Cup quarter-final against Morocco.

Although the defending champions have scored a tournament-high 14 goals, Deschamps insisted they need to be more clinical in attack.

“We have to be efficient, offensively speaking,” he said on Wednesday.

“We are efficient but we could have done better on this front. Sometimes you have six chances and score two goals and sometimes you have two chances and score twice. It is more important to be efficient.”

Reuters reports that France will face Morocco in a repeat of the 2022 World Cup semi-final. Deschamps, however, expects a tougher challenge this time, describing the Atlas Lions as genuine contenders after their victories over the Netherlands and co-hosts Canada.

“Morocco’s profile is not the one of Paraguay. We met them four years ago in the semi-finals,” he said.

“They played the AFCON final. They have top individuals. They are not here to play. They are here to win. We have to be ready and perform and deliver against this great team.”

France secured their place in the quarter-finals with a 1-0 win over Paraguay thanks to Kylian Mbappé’s penalty. The French captain has scored seven goals at the tournament, trailing Lionel Messi by one in the Golden Boot standings.

Mbappé is expected to start alongside Ousmane Dembélé, Michael Olise and Bradley Barcola in attack.

Deschamps also said Aurélien Tchouaméni is making progress in his recovery from a muscle injury.

“He feels better, but I cannot say more. He might take part in training today. All other players are available,” he said.

He also confirmed that FIFA dismissed France’s appeal over Michael Olise’s yellow card against Paraguay, leaving the booking in place ahead of the Morocco encounter.

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