(Reuters) – France manager Didier Deschamps said he was not worried about disappointing results over the last few months as “Les Bleus” only have won one of their last six games.
Deschamps’s squad ended up third in League A Group 1 of the Nations League after losses at home to Denmark and Croatia and a draw with Austria.
“We’re the defending world champions. When you’re at the very top, it’s difficult to do any better,” Deschamps told the FIFA website.
“It’s perfectly normal for a team to go on slightly less successful runs, but France remains a really competitive force and are among the top teams in Europe and the world.”
France will come up against Australia, Denmark and Tunisia in Group D of the World Cup, with Denmark being seen as the biggest threat to the current champions.
They’re a very strong side and are most likely underrated. They’re not a team people tend to talk about all that much, but they possess individual quality and are a strong unit,” Deschamps said.
“Their performance at the latest Euros and position on the World Ranking tells you all you need to know. On paper, they definitely provide the biggest threat.”
The 54-year-old, who celebrated 10 years as manager for France this summer, warned about the other two teams in the group, adding that Australia knocked out Peru in the qualifying play-off for the tournament.
“We know a bit more about Tunisia because many of their players play their club football here in France. We’re aware that none of the games will be easy. It’s the toughest competition in the world and we’ll have to make sure we perform better than all of our opponents,” Deschamps said.
France kick off their campaign against Australia on Nov. 22 before facing Denmark four days later and Tunisia on Nov. 30.
(Reporting by Tommy Lund in Gdansk; Editing by Robert Birsel)
