Vastly experienced France coach Lionel Rouxel has the unenviable task of getting some very talented young players to put their minds and hearts to the huge task of winning the title, which has eluded it for long.
Champion in 2001, France hasn’t done justice to its prodigious talent and the famed youth structure it has nurtured with care and foresight in recent times.
Rouxel, a striker in his heydey for top tier French clubs such as EA Guingamp and RC Strasbourg, is the man in the spotlight and if he is under pressure, he is not showing it, definitely.
“Please switch off the A/C, lest our players fall ill,” he joked at the press conference here on Saturday.
“I know it will be difficult [to win the crown]. We have the ambition, but would like to take it one match at a time,” he said.
Rouxel said the hot and humid conditions will be a factor as his players are not used to it. “Our players don’t like hot weather. But then, we have to adapt,” he added.
Terming the first match against debutant New Caledonia (a French colony) an “emotional contest”, Rouxel said it was not going to be easy.”
France is expected to top Group E followed by Japan.
“We want to stay as long as possible in India,” said Japan coach Yoshiro Moriyama.
All attention will be on Takefusa Kubo, dubbed the ‘Japanese Messi’. But Moriyama is not unduly worried about it. “He is good at finding spaces. If he is marked, other players will be free. I think Kubo will cope with it,” said the Japanese coach.
On taking on Honduras in the inaugural match here, Moriyama said Honduras would like to dominate the midfield and it was good in one-on-one situations. “But we are ready for the game.”
