Aurélien Tchouameni: "We can't wait to get started"
Former Monaco and Bordeaux midfielder Aurélien Tchouameni, now with Real Madrid, spoke to FFF ahead of France's first pre-tournament friendly.
On the team's desire to keep moving forward:
"From the moment you join the national team, you always want to win everything. It’s a whole new dynamic compared to the club season. With Real, things didn't go the way we wanted, ending in a trophy-less season. We now have another opportunity to win a title with this World Cup, and naturally, we are all highly motivated; I can't wait to play in my second World Cup. We know how things played out for us in the last edition—losing the final 3-3, 4-2 on penalties against Argentina—and that has left us hungrier than ever. We have a superb squad and we are confident in ourselves, but it would be crazy to rest on our laurels heading into a World Cup. Obviously, we are a fantastic team—we’re not going to shy away from acknowledging that. However, other nations are also very strong, and I think the key word here is humility. We know what we are capable of achieving as a team, but we also know that we will be facing some formidable opponents and that we will be put to the test. We’ve already started working extremely hard since the start of the training camp—while waiting for the rest of the players to arrive—and, naturally, we can't wait to get started."
On Les Bleus' style of play:
"I cannot reveal our game plan, so I cannot go into specifics. What I can say is that we try to be as compact as possible when we are out of possession. Once we win the ball back, the aim is to execute as many positional rotations as possible. Given the players we have at our disposal, one of our greatest strengths is precisely our ability to interchange positions and create confusion for the opposition. Furthermore, we strive to be effective—in the defensive zone as well. We are fully aware of our attacking potential; we know what we are capable of, so we are constantly working to maximize our chances of unlocking that full potential."
On Senegal:
"They are an excellent team; I’ve been following them for quite some time now—whether during the Africa Cup of Nations or other competitions. We know that we are going to face a very, very strong, physical opponent... They are going to want to get right in our faces from the very start. We’ll have to be ready to answer that challenge; we’re going to prepare ourselves for it."
Tchouaméni at Monaco: A cut above the rest 🔥🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/6rjYXy0iCS
— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) January 23, 2025
On Iraq and Norway
"These are going to be tricky matches. The moment a nation qualifies for the World Cup, it means they possess significant quality. We’ll have time to analyze them during video sessions with the coaching staff, but we already know it won’t be easy. Norway is a major team, featuring players we all come up against in Europe’s top leagues. We obviously know their forwards—(Alexander) Sørloth, Erling Haaland—as well as (Martin) Ødegaard... It’s not going to be an easy match, but we’ll prepare for it, and we’ll be ready when the big day arrives."
On Kylian Mbappé
"He is already a technical leader—both on and off the pitch. He has a powerful voice; whether it’s before matches, at halftime, or afterward, he possesses that ability to truly inspire everyone around him. He is our captain; he is the one who leads by example. He’s also someone who laughs a lot—whether at his club or here with the French National Team. He fulfills his role absolutely perfectly."
A last tournament for Deschamps?
"We know everything the coach has contributed to the French National Team; if we can give him the most beautiful send-off possible during this tournament, we will do so with absolute pleasure." "I’m sure he’ll tell us not to focus on that, but rather to give our absolute best as a team—to do what we’re capable of doing. But it’s certainly something we’re keeping in the back of our minds."
