The current French team's lineup is naturally quite neat.
Although Real Madrid's center forward Benzema is still excluded from the national team, the French team's forward line is full of talents, which is not worrying at all.
Giroud carries the damage in front, while Griezmann and Mbappe do things on either side or behind him. This combination can be said to be very perfect.
On the bench, there are also fast horses like Dembele and Lemar as surprise players.
Of course, the French team's midfielder's support for the forwards is also very good.
The dark troika of Matuidi, Pogba, and Kante can be said to be both offensive and defensive, and with Kante's protection, Pogba can also display his offensive talents more freely.
On the defensive line, every player is also in good condition.
The two central defenders Varane and Umtiti both scored key goals in the knockout rounds, and right back Pavard also contributed a wonderful long-range goal in the game against Argentina.
Although left back Lucas Hernandez has not scored a goal yet, the left wing he guards is also very stable. He can play as a central defender and he is obviously very knowledgeable in defense.
At the goalkeeper position, captain Lori also performed very steadily, keeping clean sheets in two consecutive games in the quarter-finals and semi-finals.
Such a strong overall strength, coupled with the fact that the French national team's game ended one day earlier than Italy, so they had one more day of rest than Italy. From this aspect, the French national team has a bit more advantage.
Including the comparison of the historical records of France and Italy, France still has a certain advantage, so there are still quite a few media who are optimistic about France and believe that they can win the final victory.
This final is also the first time France has entered the World Cup final since 2006, so for this final, the French team is bound to win.
Even before the match between Italy and Croatia started, France had already advanced to the final. Deschamps, the head coach of the French team, said confidently: "No matter who our opponent is in the final, we will win the final!"
"Deschamps won the first World Cup trophy in our country's history as captain in 1998. This time he will also lead us to win the World Cup again as head coach!" Captain Lori told the French media.
"I want to score a hat trick in the final! I want to be the top scorer, and France will win the championship." Mbappe, who has scored three goals before, said.
Although compared with Chiesa who scored six goals, it is a bit difficult for Mbappe to compete for the top scorer, but it is really not impossible.
Who says a star like Mbappe can't score three goals in the final? ——He did it in the 2022 World Cup final, but it was a pity that France did not win the championship in the end.
Pogba even said: "Two years ago we lost to Pan Yi's Sweden in the European Cup semi-finals, but that time it was because he used mysterious Eastern magic. It won't happen this time, I have already With more comprehensive arrangements, the best wizard in Africa has come to Russia!"
Compared with the confidence of the French team, there is not much movement on the Italian side.
Especially Pan Yi, he didn't seem to have much expectations for the finals, and he didn't mention anything about "spell return".
But this is not a big problem. After all, the finals are tomorrow and the pre-match press conference will be held today.
The head coaches of both sides sat together and competed off the court. At this time, you can listen to Pan Yi's thoughts.
Compared with Deschamps and Pan Yi, Deschamps was certainly far superior in his playing days.
In addition to winning the 1998 World Cup and the 2000 European Cup as the captain of the national team, his club career also has an unparalleled brilliant record.
The teams he played for such as Marseille, Juventus, Valencia and Chelsea all had outstanding records in their respective leagues. In the late 1990s, Deschamps was the player who participated in the most UEFA Champions League (Champions League) games, and in 1996 Lift the trophy with Juventus.
As for Pan Yi, he is not even a professional player...
However, if we talk about coaching career alone, Deschamps is far behind Pan Yi.
Although it is said that Deschamps also quickly "entered the state" on the coaching bench after retiring, first leading Monaco to win the UEFA Champions League runner-up in 2004, and then bringing the relegated Juventus back to Serie A three rounds ahead of schedule;
In Marseille, he also made a team that had missed the league championship in 18 years once again sit on the throne of dominance...
But after all, this cannot be compared with Pan Yi, who led many teams to win triple crowns and created an unprecedented seven crowns.
Speaking of the national team level, although Deschamps achieved good results after becoming the head coach of the French team in 2012, after all, it was only one World Cup quarter-finals and one European Cup semi-finals;
Pan Yiguang led Sweden to win the European Cup and was firmly ahead of Deschamps, let alone entering the final on the corpse of the French team.
Leading the Dragon Country team to the World Cup is even more epic-level difficulty!
Of course, for Deschamps, the most depressing thing was the time he lost to Sweden in the European Cup.
They were playing at home at that time. Deschamps originally wanted to replicate the scene when he won the cup in 1998 and 2000, but unexpectedly he failed in the hands of the Swedes who were not outstanding in strength, and in the hands of Pan Yi!
Therefore, in the past two years, all he has been thinking about is revenge!
The Swedes failed to appear in the World Cup, then seek revenge from Pan Yi!
In fact, it's not just Deschamps, most French people have this idea.
At the time, Paris Saint-Germain, the representative team of French football, was also criticized by Pan Yi, which obviously increased the French's hostility towards Pan Yi.
Now, the chance for revenge has finally arrived.
Then something exciting happened for the reporters, and the entire press conference was filled with tension.
The trigger came from a French reporter's attack on Pan Yi: "Mr. Pan Yi, before tomorrow, in the three dialogues between the two teams, Italy lost to France. Do you think tomorrow will be the fourth time?"
What the French reporter was talking about was actually the three warm-up matches between the two teams since 2008.
Italy lost to France with scores of 1:2, 1:3, and 1:3 respectively. It has been ten years since Italy defeated the French team.
But after hearing this, Pan Yi just pretended to rub his temples, pretending to be thinking hard, and then suddenly realized: "Oh... no wonder I can't remember when I lost three games. It turns out you were talking about warm-up." Competition? How many points will you get if you win the warm-up match?"
The Italian reporters in the audience burst into laughter.
"Well... when was the last time Italy and France played against each other in an official match?" Pan Yi deliberately asked an Italian reporter in the audience.
The reporter understood the situation and stood up to answer: "It was the 2008 European Cup, when we defeated France 2:0."
"Oh, yes. If I remember correctly, we really got three points by winning this game, and then we qualified, but France was eliminated at the bottom of the group." Pan Yi smiled slightly.
"That's right!" Italian reporters echoed.
"So, when was the last time our two teams faced each other in a formal game?" Pan Yi asked again.
"It's the 2006 World Cup final!" Almost all Italian reporters answered in unison.
Then there is no need for everyone to recall this game. Whether they are French or Italians present, they must know the process and results of this game well.
The faces of the French reporters present turned ugly.
Deschamps said coldly next to him: "What's there to say about a controversial penalty?"
Deschamps was naturally talking about the penalty in which Zidane was sent off.
As the core of the French team, Zidane's sending off will of course have a huge impact on the team's tactics and psychology.
"If there is any controversy, you should ask FIFA." Pan Yi still kept smiling, "If you can hit someone without being punished during the game, then the football game should be changed to a boxing match."
Deschamps was speechless now.
Although Materazzi is indeed suspected of trash-talking, it is also true that Zidane did not control his emotions and criticized others...
Pan Yi continued to output: "Today we are holding a press conference about tomorrow's finals. It is really meaningless to mention the previous results, let alone a few insignificant warm-up matches, which is even more meaningless."
"It turns out that in official matches, we are the more dominant side, but I still feel that this has nothing to do with the players in our two teams now. We still have to be based on the present."
"When it comes to history, we in Italy have won the World Cup four times. How many championships have you had?"
The French reporter who wanted to stir up trouble at the beginning was choked to silence and sat down angrily.
The host of the press conference also quickly came out to smooth things over: "Okay, everyone, as Mr. Pan Yi said, this press conference is about the 2018 World Cup finals. Please do not leave this scope with the following topics. ,Thanks."
He wanted to settle the matter, but when an Italian reporter asked Pan Yi about his outlook for the finals, Pan Yi still said harshly:
"I know the French want to win and I want to go crazy, but sorry, there is only one winner tomorrow, and that is the Italian team!"
——
This sentence was completely copied to all major media. Coupled with Pan Yi's previous reply to the French reporter, everyone thought it was right!
It turns out that Pan Yi made his big move at the press conference! This is the Pan Yi that everyone is familiar with.
Of course, this explosive press conference also caused mutual criticism from various media around the world, especially between France and Italy.
"Paris Daily News" said: "How arrogant! Our boys should teach this arrogant guy a lesson on the court! Let him know that no matter what the circumstances, never underestimate French football!"
And "Gazzetta dello Sport" said: "Pan Yi gave the Italian team strong confidence in winning. He didn't even mention the oriental magic he had used! Perhaps, this time, he wanted to prove that just by relying on his own With their strength, the Italian team can also defeat France and then embroider a fifth star on their jersey!"
This kind of public opinion war has also increased the world's attention to this final.
Well, a World Cup final would have been enough to attract attention.
But now there is added to the mutual quarrel between Italy and France, which will of course make the Internet full of discussions about this final.
For Pan Yi, of course what he said at the press conference was mainly to fight back against his opponents, but the more important counterattack still has to be on the court.
He needs to make a final confirmation and implementation of the team's tactics.
Of course, Pan Yi is very familiar with this French national team.
Apart from anything else, it can be said that the two superstars of the French national team, Kante and Mbappe, were both trained by Pan Yi.
Kante was almost just an amateur player when he was poached by Milan, and Mbappe had never played in a professional league when he entered Chelsea. It was Pan Yi who gave them the opportunity to appear in the five major leagues.
From this aspect, the French national team actually has to thank Pan Yi.
This iron waist and striker have added a lot of strength to the French team!
However, when Pan Yi has now become the "public enemy of France", of course they will not remember Pan Yi's "kindness".
It can be said that the backbone of this French team is Kanter, and the most threatening player on the front line is Mbappe.
Although Griezmann's linking role in the midfield and frontcourt is also very important, Mbappe can often use his speed and breakthrough to form a breaking point in the French team's frontcourt, tearing apart the opponent's defense in an instant.
This is especially important in a World Cup where the system is more defensive.
And Mbappe is not only excellent at breakthroughs and shooting, but now after two or three years of training, his ball-making ability and foot skills have also made great progress.
Needless to say, Giroud, although not fast, his body and header have always been the guarantee of the French team's ability to attack tough situations.
His presence also allows Mbappe and Griezmann to more freely display their strengths instead of getting stuck in hand-to-hand combat with their opponents.
In the midfield, Pogba is still the core of the offense. His large-scale mobilization, powerful long-range shots and comprehensiveness can be said to be the guarantee for bringing the French midfielder to life, while Matuidi's back row insertion and The cooperation with Pogba also makes the French team's midfield operation very flexible.
Kanter plays a more important role. Although he basically focuses on defense in the French team, his long-range shots are also quite powerful. Sometimes, he suddenly bursts in with the ball, which can also make people see his ability. Shadow of Chelsea's versatile midfielder.
Compared with the French team two years ago, in addition to replacing Payet with the more impactful Mbappe in the frontcourt, the most important change is in the backcourt, especially on the two sides.
Evra Nia is already old, but the younger Lucas Hernandez and Pavard quickly stepped up and looked stronger.
In the central defender position, the 25-year-old Umtiti also replaced the 33-year-old Koscielny as the main force and performed well.
Coupled with the high school champion Varane, this defense line can be said to take into account speed, height and defensive hardness, and it can be called the most perfect defense line in this World Cup.
However, in Pan Yi's view, they are not that "perfect" yet.
The main problem is actually with Umtiti.
As a central defender, Umtiti's biggest advantage at his peak was his strong physical fitness, quick lateral movement and excellent jumping ability.
In addition, he also has good ball-playing ability and can send mid-to-long-distance through balls that directly accelerate the attack.
In terms of defensive data, Umtiti's most prominent contribution when playing for Barcelona was interceptions, while in French national team games, the most eye-catching data was clearances.
But the problem is that Umtiti has a problem when defending at a high position, that is, he does not like to chase back at high speed and easily gives up opportunities that he thinks he cannot catch up with.
This point has been criticized by a large number of Barcelona fans, and this is also an important point that Pan Yi feels can be exploited.
What about the other centre-back Varane?
His evaluation is often polarized. In the eyes of many people, Varane has some of the top qualities of a central defender, but his style of play is soft.
In other words, he is not a brave warrior, but more like a wise general who relies on experience and strategy to win.
Varane is very good at grasping the dynamics of the forwards behind him. He looks back very frequently during the game, which also allows him to easily handle most crosses and inverted triangle attacks.
This is Varane's greatest value, a 360° view without blind spots like a falcon.
Varane's defensive habits and his ability to perceive space allow him to control his opponents like eyes behind him. As long as the opponent is always behind him, he will definitely not get a chance.
The best defense is actually marking people, because the ball is scored by people. How to prevent the opponent's forward from grabbing the point is the "great wisdom".
It can be said that Varane is a player with extremely high intelligence.
Varane's technical characteristics can make him an excellent man-marking central defender. He is very good at capturing the opponent's movements, but accordingly, it will be difficult if Varane encounters a forward who loves to run.
When guarding against such a forward who moves very frequently, he is not good at giving his opponent enough confrontation, and also gives his opponent more room to move.
He is not aggressive enough, resulting in insufficient pressure, which allows the opponent to calmly hold the ball from the front and observe before taking action.
In addition, when pressing in the high position, as the last link in the defense line, the central defender must let the opponent's advance end in his own defense zone even if he commits a foul, otherwise the opponent will get a chance to quickly counterattack, so the aggressiveness of this pair of central defenders is It's a very strict requirement, but Varane is lacking in this aspect.
It can be said that almost all of Varane's top defenses are not oppressive. It can be said that this is a big weakness of Varane.
This is actually a big hidden danger, and it is a point that can be exploited against the French team.
And how to let France's two central defenders leak flaws? The answer is high pressure.
Under high pressure, the opponent's ball play and defense will not be so calm, and it will be easier to make mistakes.
Pan Yi's Italian team happens to have a group of young people who are fast and active.
So from the beginning, Pan Yi had no intention of using defensive counterattacks to deal with France.
On the other hand, the French team itself is a team that likes to play defensive counterattacks. They do not lack players who can break through from the wing, nor do they lack centers who can grab points in the middle, nor do they lack heavy gunners outside the penalty area.
In fact, in the quarter-finals, Argentina was defeated by France. In fact, it was defeated by France's defensive counterattack.
The attack in which Mbappé ran all the way at the beginning and was finally pulled down in the penalty area was a microcosm of the entire game.
Therefore, Pan Yi hopes to play an offensive battle with the French team. Instead of fighting the opponent's strongest point, it is better to seize the opponent's weakness and attack.
After the war of words before the game, Pan Yi was not afraid that the French would not attack - this was one of the reasons why he wanted to go all out to stimulate his opponent.
Let's have a vigorous battle. This is Pan Yi's idea for the final!
(End of chapter)
