Deschamps says Southgate does not get the credit he deserves in England

France manager says he has a lot of respect for Three Lions boss ahead of World Cup quarter-final on Saturday

England's Harry Kane takes part training at the Al Wakrah Sports Complex on Wednesday, December 7, 2022. AP

England's Marcus Rashford during training in Al Wakrah. Reuters

England's Harry Maguire warms up during training in Qatar ahead of the quarter-final against France. PA

England's Jordan Henderson stretched during training. PA

England's Kyle Walker trains in Al Wakrah with teammates. PA

England's James Maddison, middle, takes part in drills during training session at the Al Wakrah Sports Complex. AP

Bukayo Saka and Mason Mount during training. Reuters

England's Phil Foden trains for the World Cup quarter-final against France. Reuters

England's Aaron Ramsdale, Nick Pope and Jordan Pickford during training. Reuters

Marcus Rashford has a laugh during training. Reuters

England's Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham during training. Reuters

England manager Gareth Southgate oversees training in Al Wakrah. PA

England's Harry Maguire during training session with teammates. PA

England's Phil Foden and Kyle Walker during training. Reuters

England's John Stones, right, takes part in drills during training. AP

Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane train on Wednesday. EPA

England players train for their World Cup 2022 quarter-final against France. EPA

France manager Didier Deschamps says England counterpart Gareth Southgate does not get the credit he deserves in his own country, as the two get set to meet in the World Cup quarter-finals in Qatar.

Deschamps, one of only three men to win the global title as a player and a manager, is seeking to become the first coach in 60 years to retain the World Cup. France lifted the trophy for a second time four years ago, when they defeated Croatia in the final in Moscow.

Southgate, meanwhile, led England in 2018 to their first World Cup semi-final for 28 years – they lost in extra-time to Croatia – while he took his team to last year’s Euro 2020 final. England’s first major final since 1966, they were beaten on penalties by Italy at Wembley Stadium.

Southgate, manager since 2016, came into Qatar on the back of some criticism in England. His side were without a win in six matches leading into the tournament but are unbeaten in Qatar.

On Sunday, they defeated Senegal 3-0 in the last 16 to set up Saturday’s mouth-watering match-up against France at Al Bayt Stadium.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Deschamps said: “I very much like Gareth. We have met on a number of occasions and have talked about a number of things.

“Not everyone appreciates him so much in his own country; that isn’t because he wasn’t a good footballer himself – he had a long and distinguished career, and he is also a very good coach.

“He has enabled England to get some very good results over the years and I very much like him.”

England’s success on Saturday will likely depend on how well their handle Kylian Mbappe, the France forward who leads the goalscoring charts in Qatar, with five goals.

Mbappe has been in scintillating form all round, scoring twice and assisting the other in his team’s 3-1 last-16 victory against Poland.

“I’m sure England will have prepared to face Kylian, as our previous opponents did,” Deschamps said. “But he is in a position to make the difference.

“Even in the last match when he didn’t have his best match, he didn’t show his top form compared to previous games, he was still decisive.

“We have other players that can be dangerous as well and that helps us not to be over-dependent on Kylian. But Kylian is Kylian, and he always will be. He has that capacity to make the difference at any moment in the match.”

Meanwhile, France captain Hugo Lloris, who is set to surpass Lilian Thuram to become France's record appearance-maker with 143 caps, said his team can handle to strain of a World Cup quarter-final.

"The players know how to deal with pressure," Lloris said. “But there are some players who weren't involved in the last few tournaments. We can help them and talk them through things, but we are all ready.

"It is the quarter-final of the World Cup, so we know what it means. There is not much to say, it is a big game."