Camavinga pleased Courtois will miss France’s Belgium showdown
France will go for first place in the group against Belgium tomorrow evening, with Eduardo Camavinga welcoming the absence of Real Madrid teammate Thibaut Courtois from the Belgian squad.
Camavinga said he had spoken with Courtois before the selections were announced and admitted, with a smile, that he was pleased the goalkeeper would not be involved. France head into the match after beating Turkey 1-0 in Zinedine Zidane’s first game in charge, while Belgium opened with a 2-0 victory over Italy.
The meeting carries obvious weight for both sides and revives memories of their previous contests. Camavinga described Belgium as a major football nation and said France’s players were eager for a fixture of this scale. He also joked that it was Belgium, rather than France, who still carried frustration over the past between the countries.
Zidane’s arrival has changed the atmosphere around the French camp. Camavinga said it initially felt unusual to come face to face with a figure of Zidane’s standing in French football, but the midfielder is now preparing to help deliver a second straight win for the new manager.
Asked about the workload expected from France’s forwards, Camavinga made clear that the team does not want its attacking players overloaded with defensive duties. The instruction, he said, is simply for every player to fulfil his own role within the structure.
A win over Belgium would give Zidane an ideal opening to his tenure and secure momentum before the international players return to their clubs for domestic action.
