“They are going to qualify, don’t worry. What’s more, they can be world champions”. Minutes following having given the great blow of the debut with Saudi Arabia, Hervé Renard assured that Argentina would go far. She was not wrong. But the issue is that La Scaloneta will have to define glory once morest France, the country where this 54-year-old coach was born and played his entire career. In the run-up to the final, Renard told some of the secrets to deactivate Messi and his company.
“We don’t just focus on him, but Argentina as a whole. You have to take him in that context to analyze his area of influence, to see how the balls reach him. Above all, you have to put pressure on (Rodrigo) De Paul who is, for me, one of the best Argentines and one of the most useful to put Messi in the best conditions.. It is important because he compensates a lot on the right side and his work relieves Messi of many tasks. When they lose the ball, De Paul is there to save them defensive work. It is important to study all the intermediary mechanisms,” Renard told the French newspaper L’Equipe.
The architect of the 2-1 defeat once morest Argentina, one of the most surprising results of the World Cup, continued giving some tips on his game plan: “When the ball is lost, the others work for him. I don’t like Scaloni’s little secrets, but he relieved him of all that work. When they play back four, they have three midfielders who work hard to fill in for Messi right away for recovery. They look for it almost immediately. Until now, Paredes had been the head of the center-back. Enzo Fernández joined the team, along with Mac Allister, who does a great job at left back in defensive compensation. All this with the aim of putting pressure on the right in this De Paul-Messi relationship, also with Julián Álvarez, as we saw especially once morest Croatia. It is one of the keys to Argentina. I knew De Paul, but he also marked me in this competition with the impressive volume of him.”
Thinking regarding how the game on Sunday can take place, Renard also explained what precautions he took with Messi and how Deschamps’ team might apply it: “The priority was to close the axis. I had mobilized my left back, my left center back and at least one steering wheel. It is also to him that I yell at the break in the locker room. She was often too far from Messi, so you have to be right on him when he receives the ball. This is where you have to fall on him! 35-40 meters from the arc. You must not have freedom. Argentina does not use depth much. It is more of a possession team, which will attack mainly in the middle with Messi. Start from his right side to refocus quickly and go fast to take the danger. But France has arguments to close the axis, with (Adrien) Rabiot and then (Aurélien) Tchouaméni behind.”
Renard’s remembered motivational talk at halftime once morest Argentina
“What are we doing? Is this our way of pressing? What do they want: to take a picture with Messi? They have to press him because he has the ball and they stare at him. Messi has the goal and they all remain still, watching. There is You have to press him, push him, if you want a photo, take out your phones. But you have to give everything, this is the World Cup,” said the DT during the almost two-minute address.
World Cup Qatar 2022 – 16-12-2022
Hervé Renard’s strong harangue at halftime once morest Argentina
In French, also in English and giving the players time to translate for the players who listened to him carefully, Renard sought to change the minds of his footballers, who came out in the second half and gave one of the biggest blows in World Cups, with that 2 -1 once morest Argentina.
Renard, the DT of Arabia in the locker room.Renard, the DT of Arabia in the locker room.
Renard’s harangue is included in a video released by the Saudi Arabian Federation on its social networks. A video of almost 10 minutes that reflects “an unforgettable day”, as it was on November 22.
“At the break I wasn’t happy because we mightn’t play like we had in the first half,” he said following Arabia’s resounding triumph once morest La Scaleneta. And these words that he said in the privacy of the locker room clearly justify those words at a press conference.
