D. Deschamps criticized the cooling-off breaks

2026-03-27 11:11 © ZUMAPRESS com.

The Brazilian and French national teams, preparing for the World Cup, played a friendly match in Brazil on Thursday.

In the control match, the French celebrated a victory away with a score of 2:1, although they played with a disadvantage from the 55th minute.

After the victory, the head coach of the French team, Didier Deschamps, was pleased with the team's performance and recalled a friendly match against the same Brazilians that took place 11 years ago.

"It’s always wonderful to play against Brazil. Eleven years ago we were crushed here (1:3, - ed.), back then the difference between the teams was huge. I'm not saying that the difference has turned in our favor now, but what we managed to show in this match is very interesting,” said Deschamps.

This match also tested the cooling protocol, which will be used in all World Cup matches. The games were halted for three minutes in the middle of both halves, allowing players to cool down.

Apparently, the new protocol did not impress the French team's head coach.

"It is great for television to have such a break to show advertisements, but these pauses essentially change the match. No matter how strong the team is, three minutes can instantly disrupt the rhythm of team play,” explained Deschamps.