France stronger for Paraguay test, ready for different challenge against Morocco, says coach

Assistant ​coach Guy Stephan said France would be stronger for the physical test they faced against Paraguay and were preparing for a very different challenge when they take on Morocco in the World Cup quarter-finals on Thursday.
France romped into the second knockout round but had to scrap their way past a rugged Paraguay side with very little protection from the match officials ⁠in Philadelphia on Saturday to get into the last eight. Stephan confirmed that the French ⁠federation had appealed against key forward Michael Olise's yellow card, one of three shown to French players during the clash to one for the Paraguayans.
'I think that playing a match like that at this stage of the tournament was fruitful for us, because it gives answers about what the players ​are capable of in the ⁠face of that kind of adversity,' he told reporters on Monday.
'It was a ​day when it would have been easy to lose control, and nobody lost control. So that is still proof of maturity, even if they are young players.
'It was a hard match, physically ​and mentally draining. Now we've moved on,' he added.

GENUINE CLASS
Morocco will be aiming to reach the semi-finals for the second straight World Cup in Boston on Thursday and Stephan said there was no doubt they were a team with genuine class.
'It will be a completely different kind of opposition from what we just had,' he said.
'It's ‌a well-organised, well-structured team, a team with a certain solidity, and above all a team that is ​very good in transition that has scored a lot of goals .
'They also have individual strengths, whether on ​the right ⁠side or the left side, It's undeniably a quality team.' Stephan said forward Marcus Thuram, who missed France's last two matches with a calf issue, would return to training on Monday but midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni ​was still struggling with an adductor injury he sustained before the Paraguay ⁠match.
'We'll see each day ​whether his injury is healing or not,' said the 69 year old, who has been the right-hand man of coach Didier Deschamps since 2009.
'We are a bit pressed for time, it's true, because the match is on Thursday, but he is continuing his individual work today and tomorrow.' Stephan, who took charge of the ​team for the third group match when Deschamps returned to France following the death ​of his mother, gave a succinct response to the racist tirade aimed at striker Kylian Mbappe by a Paraguayan senator. 'In three words,' he said. 'It's disgraceful, vile, outrageous.' — Reuters