France got back to winning ways on Tuesday, beating Russia 3-1 in St Petersburg, but Kylian Mbappe and other players admitted that there is still a lot of work to be done to be ready for the start of the World Cup in June.
Following the match, Mbappe said: “The most important was to win. It’s always important to break some records but I’m not chasing them. I played in the centre tonight [in a 4-3-3 formation] and I had players around me in Ousmane [Dembele] and Anthony [Martial] with whom it is easy to combine.
“We need to get a bit more used to playing with each other, but it is a good start.”
“We are aware that everything was not perfect over the last two games,” Matuidi said. “Even in this second game tonight, we feel we could do much better. We have talked about it between us.
“Our display and the team spirit [needs] to be stronger, we have to work on this because the World Cup tournament will arrive quickly, and we will have to be ready. In May, we will have a bit more time to work on it and we hope that we will get some positive outcomes to be ready for the World Cup.”
The Juventus midfielder also highlighted the importance of the developing a collective group and building team cohesion.
“We need a good team spirit. At the top level, every little detail counts,” Matuidi added. “It’s very important. We have to realise that. In the difficult moments, we weren’t capable of staying strong together.
“We gave the opposition far too much space and we made less effort and you get punished for that at the top level. We’ve lacked consistency in our performances as well. Some teams are more ready than us for the World Cup already.”
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