France coach Didier Deschamps will stick to his plans to make multiple changes and rotate the lineup for Monday's Nations League clash against Belgium in Lyon, he said on Sunday.
France suffered a 3-1 defeat by Italy in Paris on Friday in a poor start to their Nations League campaign but Deschamps insisted this would not deter him from sticking to his pre-determined plans.
“The six Nations League matches should serve to introduce new players and distribute playing time,” he said at the pre-match press conference.
“If we had a different schedule and we were playing World Cup qualifiers, I wouldn't have chosen this pitch, that's for sure. But I chose it because I think we have to overcome it. I'm not going to change pitches.”
After their first two Nations League matches, France will play Israel and Belgium next month and conclude their Group A2 fixtures against Israel and Italy in November.
Deschamps said he was looking for a positive reaction to the defeat by Italy, where France took a 20-second lead but were comfortably beaten in the end.
“I cannot be satisfied with the game against Italy, nor with the players. Tomorrow is another game, another context, another team with the same obligation,” he added.
“The path I've taken is to give as much playing time to as many players as possible. Whatever the playing time, there's always pressure, you have to perform at your best.”
Belgium, meanwhile, are still smarting from their Euro 2024 exit at the hands of France, with coach Dominic Tedesco feeling they were shown too much respect in their last-16 defeat this summer in Dusseldorf, Germany.
“At the Euros, the game against France was very close. We could have won as well,” Tedesco said at a press conference on Sunday. “France were a bit better, they deserved to win, but we also had our chances. I would be lying if I said that game is forgotten, it still hurts. I often think about the Euros, but you also have to look ahead.”
Belgium began their campaign with a 3-1 win over Israel behind closed doors on Friday in Debrecen, Hungary, where the match was changed for security reasons.
Information from Reuters was used in this story.
