'Aggressiveness doesn't win a match', says France's Deschamps ahead of Paraguay clash

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/paraguay/YaNlqp6j/"]Paraguay[/a] sent [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/germany/ptQide1O/"]Germany[/a] packing in the round of 32 after beating them on penalties. The Albirroja survived the group stage as one of the eight best third-placed teams, finishing there in a group with the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/usa/fuitL4CF/"]USA[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/australia/xSrf6qMM/"]Australia[/a], and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/turkey/QeijuHo5/"]Turkey[/a].[/p][p]Paraguay's best-ever campaign does not come as a surprise to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/france/QkGeVG1n/"]France[/a] manager Didier [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/deschamps-didier/M9jPX2nf/"]Deschamps[/a], who, unlike [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/doue-desire/KIUWH2Jq/"]Desire Doue[/a] during the same press conference, did not, at least in part, attribute the success to an aggressive style of play.[/p][p][b]"Paraguay didn't just come out of nowhere. Like all South American teams, they have a big heart. It's not aggressiveness that wins a match,"[/b] Deschamps said.[/p][embed guid="5cbeda0b-0c93-4f9c-b66a-e98f30483f1b" url="https://x.com/fifaworldcup_es/status/2071706696968225230?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]"It's a team that knows its football well. They have good players: [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/enciso-julio/f19S9MEi/"]Enciso[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/almiron-miguel/AwqEUHxT/"]Almiron[/a]... They know each other, they do things well. But that's not all."[/b][/p][p]France striker [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mbappe-kylian/Wn6E2SED/"]Kylian Mbappe[/a] has wrote the headlines for France with six goals in four games, but Deschamps points to a more delicate line in his team that makes the difference.[/p][p][b]"We talk about the attack because we're scoring goals. But between the defensive line and the attack, there's the midfield. Whether it's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/tchouameni-aurelien/QkiZum3e/"]Aurélien[/a] (Tchouameni), [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/rabiot-adrien/l08EAP2Q/"]Adrien[/a] (Rabiot), or Manu (Kone), they provide balance and pressing. You can't separate the lines. It's a puzzle, you need to have connections."[/b][/p][image alt="France's Didier Deschamps (R) battles Paraguay's Carlos Paredes at the 1998 FIFA World Cup" id="3d2c9887-a3ac-4cb7-901f-73c797bb1ea6" credit-line="Gabriel BOUYS / AFP / AFP / Profimedia" guid="70baf4f5-5d67-4353-adf4-6d477d27f870" original-width="1300" original-height="999" /][p]Saturday's meeting between France and Paraguay is no first, with Deschamps present when the French beat the South Americans in the round of 16 in 1998. The game was decided by a golden goal from [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/blanc-laurent/697mbZk2/"]Laurent Blanc[/a] - a memory that made Deschamps smile.[/p][p][b]"My players weren't born at that time, but I remember it. It was an important moment for me, for France. It was a tough match; it's part of football history, of World Cup history. Today, it's a different match, but Paraguay's qualities are the same."[/b][/p][infobox id="4ccc1b10-d68f-4c97-bcf4-5e613c17c2e3" /]