The current French team, the lineup is naturally quite neat.

Although Real Madrid's central striker Karim Benzema is still excluded from the national team, France's forward talent is not a cause for concern.

With Giroud carrying damage up front, and Antoine Griezmann and Mbappe doing things on either side or behind him, the combination is perfect.

On the bench, there are also fast horses such as Dembele and Lemar as surprise soldiers.

Of course, the French midfield's support for the forwards is also very good.

The trio of Matuidi, Pogba and Kante can be said to be both offensive and defensive, and with Kante's escort, Pogba can also play his offensive talents more freely.

At the back, the players are also in good form.

The two centre-backs, Raphael Varane and Umtiti, both scored crucial goals in the knockout rounds, while right-back Pavard also scored from distance against Argentina.

Left-back Lucas Hernandez has yet to score a goal, but he is also very solid on the left flank, and he can play as a central defender, and he is clearly very good at defending.

In goal, captain Lloris has also been solid, keeping two clean sheets in the quarter-finals and semi-finals.

With such a strong overall strength, coupled with the fact that the French national team ended their game a day earlier than Italy, they had an extra day of rest than Italy, and from this point of view, the French national team is a little more dominant.

Including the comparison of the historical records of the French and Italian teams, France still has a certain advantage, so there are still quite a few media who are optimistic about France and think that they can win the final victory.

This final is also the first time that France has entered the final of the World Cup since 2006, so for this final, the French team is bound to win.

As early as before the match between Italy and Croatia began, France had already reached the final first, and the head coach of the French team, Didier Deschamps, said confidently: "No matter who the opponent is in the final, we will win in the end!" ”

"Didier Deschamps captained our country's first World Cup trophy in 1998 and will lead us to another World Cup as manager!" That's what captain Lloris said to the French press.

"I'm going to score a hat-trick in the final! I'm going to win the top scorer and France win the title. Mbappe, who has already scored three goals before, said.

Although it will be a bit difficult for Mbappe to compete for the top scorer compared to Chiesa, who has scored six goals, 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 unfortunately France did not win the championship in the end.

Pogba said: "Two years ago, we lost to Pan Yi's Sweden in the semi-finals of the European Championship, but that time it was because he used a mysterious oriental magic trick. Not this time, I already have a more thoughtful arrangement, the best wizard in all of Africa has come to Russia! ”

Compared to the self-confidence of the French team, there is not much movement on the Italian side.

Especially Pan Yi, he didn't seem to have much prospect for the finals, and he didn't mention anything about the "spell return battle".

But it's not a big deal, after all, the final is tomorrow and there is a pre-match press conference today.

The head coaches of the two sides sat together and competed off the court, and at this time they could listen to Pan Yi's thoughts.

Compared with Pan Yi, Deschamps is of course far beyond when he was a player.

In addition to winning back-to-back World Cup 1998 and Euro 2000 as captain of the national team, his club career also boasted an unattainable record.

His clubs such as Marseille, Juventus, Valencia and Chelsea all excelled in their respective leagues, with Didier Deschamps playing the most Champions League games in the late 90s and winning the trophy with Juventus in '96.

As for Pan Yi, he is not even a professional player......

However, if you talk about coaching career alone, Deschamps is far from Pan Yi.

Although Deschamps also quickly "got into the groove" in the dugout after retiring, first leading Monaco to a runner-up finish in the Champions League in 2004, and then bringing relegated Juventus back to Serie A three rounds ahead of schedule;

At Marseille, he also put a team that had missed out on the league title for 18 years once again in the top spot......

But after all, this is not comparable to Pan Yi, who led many teams to win the Triple Crown and created an unprecedented miracle of seven crowns.

At the national team level, although Deschamps played well after becoming the head coach of the French team in 2012, after all, it was only a World Cup quarterfinals and a European Cup semifinals;

Pan Yi led Sweden to win the European Championship just to stabilize Deschamps, not to mention stepping on the corpse of the French team to enter the final.

Leading the Dragon Nation team into the World Cup is even more epic difficulty!

Of course, for Didier Deschamps, the most frustrating thing for him was his defeat to Sweden at the European Championship.

At that time, they were playing at home, and Deschamps originally wanted to replicate the scene when he won the cup in 1998 and 2000, but he didn't expect it to be folded in the hands of the Swedes, who were not outstanding, and folded in the hands of Pan Yi!

So, for the past two years, all he has been thinking about is revenge!

The Swedes failed to appear in the World Cup, so look for Pan Yi for revenge!

In fact, not only Deschamps, but the vast majority of French people have this idea.

At the beginning, Paris Saint-Germain, the representative team of French football, was also sprayed by Pan Yi, which obviously increased the hostility of the French towards Pan Yi.

Now, the chance for revenge has finally arrived.

So something excited happened to the reporters, and the whole press conference was filled with tension.

The fuse came from a French reporter's attack on Pan Yi: "May I ask Mr. Pan Yi, before tomorrow, Italy lost to France in all three dialogues between the two teams, do you think tomorrow will be the fourth?" ”

What this French journalist is talking about is actually the three warm-up matches between the two teams since 2008.

Italy lost to France with consecutive scores of 1:2, 1:3, and 1:3, and it has not won against France for ten years.

But Pan Yi just pretended to rub his temples when he heard this, making a look of hard thinking, and then suddenly realized: "Oh...... No wonder I can't remember when I lost three games, so you were talking about a warm-up game? How many points do you get if you win a warm-up match? ”

The Italian reporters in the audience burst into laughter.

"Hmm...... When was the last time Italy and France played each other in an official match? Pan Yi deliberately asked an Italian reporter in the audience.

The journalist understood, stood up and replied: "It was Euro 2008, when we beat France 2-0. ”

"Oh, yes, yes. If I'm not mistaken, we won this game to really get three points and then we qualified, but France finished bottom of the group and were knocked out. Pan Yi smiled slightly.

"That's right!" Italian journalists echoed.

"So, when was the last time our two teams met in an official match?" Pan Yi asked again.

"It's 2006, the final of the World Cup!" Almost all Italian journalists replied in unison.

Then there is no need to recall this game, whether it is the French or the Italians present, they must know the process and result of this game.

The faces of the French reporters present became ugly.

Deschamps said coldly next to him: "A controversial decision, what is there to say?" ”

Didier Deschamps was talking about the decision that Zinedine Zidane was sent off.

As the heart of the French team, Zidane's sending off certainly had a huge impact on the tactics and psychology of the whole team.

"If it's controversial, then I'll have to ask FIFA." Pan Yi still kept smiling, "If you can take people at will without punishment in the game, then the football game will be changed to a boxing match." ”

Now Deschamps is also a little speechless.

Although Materazzi is indeed suspected of trash talk, it is also true that Zidane did not control his emotions to top others......

Pan Yi continued to output: "We are holding a press conference about tomorrow's finals today, and it is really boring to mention the previous results, let alone a few inconsequential warm-up games." ”

'It turns out that in the official game we are the more dominant side, but I still think it has nothing to do with the players in both teams at the moment, we still have to base ourselves on the present.'

"If you want to talk about history, we Italy are still four World Cup champions, how many championships do you have?"

The French journalist, who had wanted to stir up trouble at first, had long been choked up and sat down.

And the host of the press conference also hurriedly came out to play a round: "Okay, everyone, as Mr. Pan Yi said, this press conference is a press conference about the 2018 World Cup final, please don't leave this category in the next topic, thank you." ”

He wanted to calm things down, but when an Italian reporter asked Pan Yi about his outlook for the finals, Pan Yi still threw out a cruel sentence:

"I know the French want to go crazy if they want to win, but I'm sorry, there is only one winner tomorrow, and that is the Italian team!"

——

This sentence has been completely copied to the major media, coupled with Pan Yi's previous reply to the French reporter, everyone thinks that this taste is right!

It turned out that Pan Yi made a big move at the press conference! This is the familiar Pan Yi.

Of course, this explosive press conference also caused various media around the world to spray each other, especially between France and Italy.

The Journal de Paris said: "What arrogance! Our lads should teach this megalomaniacal guy a lesson on the pitch! Let him know that no matter what the circumstances, don't underestimate French football! ”

And "Milan Sports Newspaper" said: "Pan Yi gave the Italian team a strong confidence in winning, and he didn't even mention the oriental magic he once used!" Perhaps, this time, he wants to prove that Italy can also beat France with their own strength, 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 a lot.

Well, a World Cup final, it would have been enough to attract attention.

It's just that now with the addition of the exchange of sprays between Italy and France, of course, the Internet will be full of discussions about this final.

For Pan Yi, of course, what he said at the press conference was mainly to fight back against the opponent, but the more important counterattack was still on the court.

He needs to make a final confirmation and implementation of the team's tactics.

For this French national team, Pan Yi is of course very familiar with it.

Not to mention anything else, the two superstars of the French national team, Kante and Mbappe, can be said to have been cultivated by Pan Yi.

N'Golo Kante was almost an amateur when he was poached by Milan, and Mbappe had never played in the professional league when he entered Chelsea, and it was Pan Yi who gave them the opportunity to show their faces in the top five leagues.

In this regard, the French national team actually has to thank Pan Yi.

This iron waist and a god blade have added a lot of strength to the French team!

However, when Pan Yi has now become a "public enemy of France", of course they will not remember Pan Yi's "kindness".

Suffice it to say, the backbone of this French team is N'Golo Kante, and the most threatening up front is Kylian Mbappe.

Although Griezmann's tandem role in central midfield is also very important, Mbappe can often form a flashpoint in the French team's front line through his speed and breakthrough, tearing apart the opponent's defense in an instant.

This is especially important in the World Cup, which is more defence-oriented.

And Mbappe is not only excellent in breaking through and shooting, but now after two or three years of tempering, his ability to do the ball and his skills at his feet have also developed considerably.

Needless to say, Giroud is not fast, but his body and header have always been a guarantee of the French team's attacking ability.

His presence can also allow Mbappe and Griezmann to play their strengths more freely, rather than getting caught up in hand-to-hand combat with their opponents.

In the midfield, Pogba is still the core of the attack, his large-scale mobilization, strong long-range shooting and comprehensiveness can be said to be the guarantee of keeping the French midfield alive, and Matuidi's back row insertion and cooperation with Pogba also make the French team's midfield operation very flexible.

N'Golo Kante plays a more important role, and while he is largely defensive in the French squad, his long-range shots are also quite powerful, and sometimes a sudden burst with the ball can also give a glimpse of his all-round midfield at Chelsea.

Compared to the French team two years ago, apart from replacing Payet with the more impactful Mbappe in front, the main change is at the back, especially on both sides.

Evers has aged, but younger Lucas Hernandez and Pavard have quickly stepped up and looked stronger.

In the centre-back position, the 25-year-old Umtiti also replaced the 33-year-old Koscielny as the main team, and has played well.

Coupled with the school bully Raphael Varane, this backline can be said to take into account speed, height and defensive hardness, which can be called the most perfect backline in this World Cup.

It's just that, in Pan Yi's opinion, they are not so "perfect".

The main problem is actually here in Umtiti.

Umtiti's biggest strengths at his peak as a centre-back were his physicality, quick lateral movement and excellent jumping ability.

On top of that, he also has a good ability to play the ball, and can send a mid-to-long-distance straight plug that accelerates the attack.

In terms of defensive statistics, Umtiti's most prominent contribution at Barcelona was interceptions, while in the French national team, the most conspicuous statistic was clearances.

But the problem is that Umtiti will have a problem when defending in the high post, that is, he is not very fond of high-speed chasing, and it is easy to give up opportunities that he thinks he can't chase.

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 used.

What about Raphael Varane, the other centre-back?

Assessments of him tend to be polarised, with many arguing that Raphael Varane has some of the top qualities of a centre-back, but has a soft style of play.

In other words, he is not a brave warrior, but more like a wise general who wins by experience.

Raphael Varane is very good at mastering the dynamics of the forwards behind him, and he looks back very often during the game, which allows him to handle most of his crosses and inverted triangles with ease.

That's Varane's greatest value, a falcon-like 360° view without blind spots.

Varane's defensive habits combined with his sense of space will allow him to dominate opponents as long as he is behind him, and as long as the opponent is always behind him, he will not be given a chance.

The best defense is actually to mark people, because the ball is scored by people, and how to make the opponent's striker unable to grab the point is the "great wisdom".

It can be said that Varane is a player with a high ball intelligence.

Raphael Varane's technical qualities make him a very good marking centre-back, and he is very good at catching the movements of opponents, but correspondingly, it is not easy for Varane to come up with a particularly run-like striker.

He is not good at giving the opponent enough confrontation when defending against this kind of striker who runs very frequently, and will also give the opponent more room to move.

He is not aggressive enough, which leads to insufficient pressing, which can give the opponent a calm head-on observation of the ball before making a move.

In addition, when pressing in the high position, as the last link in the defensive line, the central defender must let the opponent's advance end in his own defense area even if he fouls, otherwise the opponent will get a chance to counterattack quickly, so this has a very hard requirement for the aggressiveness of the central defender, but Varane is lacking in this aspect.

It can be said that almost all of Varane's top defense is not pressed, and 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 make these two French central defenders leak flaws? The answer is high pressure.

Under high pressure, the opponent's ball and defense are not so calm, and it is easier to make mistakes.

And Pan Yi's Italian team happens to have a group of young people who are fast and running actively.

So from the beginning, Pan Yi did not intend to use defensive counterattacks to deal with France.

On the other hand, the French team itself is a team that likes to play defensive counter-attacks, and they do not lack good players who break through the wings, nor do they lack center forwards who grab points in the middle, and they do not lack heavy gunners outside the penalty area.

In fact, in the quarterfinals, Argentina was defeated by France, in fact, it was defeated by France's defensive counterattack.

Mbappe's attack at the beginning of the game when he ran wildly and was finally pulled down in the box was the epitome of the whole game.

Therefore, Pan Yi just hopes to play an offensive battle with the French team, and instead of fighting the strongest point with the opponent, it is better to seize the opponent's weakness to attack.

And after the pre-match war of words, Pan Yi was not afraid that the French would not attack - this is one of the reasons why he wanted to desperately stimulate his opponent.

Let's have a vigorous offensive battle, this is Pan Yi's idea for the finals!

(End of chapter)