Didier Deschamps Sticks to Winning Formula for Iraq Match

Didier Deschamps is not in the mood for experiments.

After watching his France side swat aside Senegal 3-1 in their FIFA World Cup opener, the France coach is expected to stay loyal to the core of that winning XI when Les Bleus face Iraq on Monday evening, according to L’Équipe. No revolution. No surprise overhaul. Just continuity.

Deschamps trusts his winning formula

France were anything but fluent in the early stages against Les Lions de la Teranga. The tempo was flat, the passing predictable, the pressing half-hearted. Deschamps did not hide his frustration at the break.

The response was emphatic.

Stung by a blunt half-time message, the players came back out with a different edge: sharper into duels, quicker through the lines, far more ruthless in the final third. Three second-half goals turned a laboured performance into a convincing statement to open their World Cup campaign.

That surge has effectively secured the backbone of the team. Deschamps is described as unlikely to make any “major” changes, a clear sign that those who started against Senegal have, for now, earned his trust.

Tweaks are always possible — a full-back here, a midfielder there — but the structure and key personnel should remain intact as France look to back up their opening win.

Almost a full squad at his disposal

The other good news for Deschamps: the Senegal match did not leave any fresh scars.

No new fitness concerns have emerged from the 3-1 victory. The medical bulletin is as close to clean as a World Cup coach can realistically hope for after a physically demanding opener.

Malo Gusto and William Saliba are still receiving treatment for their own individual issues, but their situations are being managed rather than treated as emergencies. The staff are monitoring them, not rushing them.

For Deschamps, it means something priceless at this stage of a tournament: choice. A near-complete squad, a team that has just found its rhythm in the second half of its first game, and a second group match against Iraq that offers the chance to tighten their grip on the group.

He has his plan. Now the question is whether this settled France side can impose it again.