DOHA, Qatar — France manager Didier Deschamps had the perfect summation of why it’s so important to have a squad that’s happy to be together, work hard together and spend so much time together: “You won’t win games because you have a happy camp, but you can lose games if you don’t have one.”
After all, the successes and failures of a team in a major competition like the World Cup are often linked to, and consequences of, the off-field aspects.
For example, Belgium players had several simmering interpersonal tensions in their dressing room, and they struggled on the pitch. Now, they’re heading home. Meanwhile, France have harmony in their camp, something that the defending champions know is It is not easy to achieve. At the rescheduled Euro 2020, which took place in 11 host cities across Europe in the summer of 2021, France struggled to find the right togetherness and cohesion. With all their group games taking place in Hungary, they stayed in the city centre of Budapest, which left them with nowhere to go: they had little to no outdoor space and no way to really escape the crowds.
It’s been the opposite experience in Doha. Inside their luxurious hotel, the Al-Messila Resort, it feels at times like a big holiday camp. Once the football (either training or matches) and hard work is done, Deschamps’ players are like 24 mates meeting up.
The music is always loud in the games room they have at their disposal. Midfielder Youssouf Fofana and forward Antoine Griezmann are the two dedicated team DJs, blasting everything from French hip hop to reggaeton and demonstrating their eclectic tastes. If they let defender Benjamin Pavard take over, there would be a lot of French classics like 1980s singer Daniel Balavoine — the Bayern Munich defender knows all his songs such as “L’Aziza” by heart. Kylian Mbappe is a big fan of “Gasolina” by Paris rapper Tiakola whenever he gets a turn.
