No matter their words, there’s plenty at stake in the high-powered meeting between France, Norway in Foxborough
WALTHAM — France midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni knows Erling Haaland as “a world-class player — he’s astute in the [penalty area] and, in any moment, if you’re not concentrating, you can pay for it. But we’re ready for that.”
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Tchouaméni, though, did not seem prepared for Haaland’s claim that France is “probably going to win against us. They’re probably going to win the whole tournament.”
“Interesting,” Tchouaméni said via an interpreter Thursday before practice at Bentley University. “No, honestly, I don’t know if he was kidding, or not. We stay focused on ourselves, game to game, we have to stay focused on ourselves.”
Haaland made his prediction when asked about Friday’s France-Norway match in Foxborough.
“Honestly I don’t care too much, we’re through,” Haaland said after Norway’s 3-2 victory over Senegal. “We managed to get through, which is incredible, so I couldn’t care too much about that game now.”
France and Norway (both 2-0-0, 6 points) will be playing for the Group I lead, which would mean a date with a third-place finisher on Tuesday in East Rutherford, N.J. The runner-up faces Group E runner-up Ivory Coast in Dallas.
France assistant coach Guy Stéphan said Haaland’s contention lacked credibility.
“I don’t believe that much,” Stéphan said. “They say a team is better, in case they lose the match. Then, people don’t feel so sorry.”
Haaland the jokester, then. Or is he playing mind games?
“I think he said it a little bit as a joke, because it was just after a big, big, win,” Norway defender David Møller Wolfe said. “So, we were focused on the win, and not on the the next game. I think everyone wants to win and win the group.”
If Haaland is putting his kroners on Les Bleus, he is not alone. France is a strong favorite against the Norwegians, and also to capture its third World Cup title. With captain Kylian Mbappé leading the way, France has taken wins over Senegal (3-1) and Iraq (3-0). Mbappé and Haaland have four goals each, tied with Brazil’s Vinícius Júnior for second in the Golden Boot race, one behind Argentina’s Lionel Messi.
“He’s not focused on being top scorer,” Norway coach Stale Solbakken said. “He’s focused on the team winning. He’s a team player and he’s equally happy when his teammates score. Of course, he has killer instinct and on the largest stage he is [among the] five best players. I think his greatest strength, and what makes his teammates love him is, he puts the team first and he’s happy when others score and the team performs. So, it’s not like he wants to make his way into a team just to be the top scorer.
“Maybe he will be, maybe he will score tomorrow. But he thinks about Norway first and, if you want to be the best scorer, you need to get to the final, and you depend on your team.”
Something like what Mbappé has been doing since making his World Cup debut as France won for the second time in 2018.
“Difficult, of course, one of the best players in the world,” Møller Wolfe said of Mbappé. “Can create on his own, so much pace and power. It’s going to be a real tough challenge for us, but we’re looking forward to it. We believe we defend well as a unit.”
As for Mbappé’s teammates?
“Of course, it’s world-class players. I’m going to need help,” Møller Wolfe said. “It’s impossible to stop these kind of players one-v-one in big spaces, so it’s cooperation with everyone around me on the pitch.”
France long ago planned for this situation, choosing Boston as its base and playing a warm-up game against Brazil at Gillette Stadium — Les Bleus won, 2-1, on goals by Mbappé and Hugo Ekitiké on March 26. The idea was to stay close to their temporary home in the Northeast as long as possible.
Stéphan, replacing head coach Didier Deschamps, who returned to France for his mother’s funeral, said: “Of course, [Deschamps], like the team, wants to finish in top position. Logistically, it’s a completely different story. Second is way longer [travel] and different time zones and temperatures. Mainly, the logistics will be different, whether first or second.
“The major thing is, we qualified. It doesn’t happen that often that you get 6 points in two matches. If somebody said this to us two months ago, and Senegal would be [winless], for us, it would have been hard to believe.”
Tchouaméni said he is getting used to Boston.
“The days could have been even longer if we didn’t have the atmosphere on our squad,” Tchouaméni said. “We spend quite a bit of time together, eat, free time. We have work to do, fitness work. We’ve been here quite a while, it’s true, but the days go by fast.
“We know tomorrow is a very important match, and we have to win it — not to come in first in the group, but just to win. Every time we play, we play to win. They have really good players, we know it’s going to be a tough battle. But we are going to be ready for what’s coming for us.”
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