PARIS — Lyon’s Nabil Fekir was coy when asked about recent reports linking him with a move to Liverpool following France’s 2-0 friendly win over Ireland at Stade de France on Monday.
Fekir, 24, scored one goal and played a role in Olivier Giroud’s as Didier Deschamps’ men got off to a positive start in difficult conditions ahead of this summer’s World Cup in Russia.
The Lyon man has been heavily linked with Liverpool of late. And after Jurgen Klopp’s men announced the signing of Fabinho from Monaco mid-match, Fekir was asked about the Reds by Canal+ Sport after the final whistle.
“We will revisit that after the World Cup,” Fekir said, before adding “I honestly do not know,” when quizzed about the possibility of a move being announced pre-World Cup.
“I felt good in the front three,” said Fekir about the match. “We have not had much chance to work on it in training. However, we have quality players — it is not difficult to get along on the pitch. It was a good first match and we need to continue like that.”
Giroud, 31, who scored the opener against the Irish, was amazed by the second half deluge which intensified towards the end of the game.
“Even in London, it is never like that,” the Chelsea man joked with TF1 shortly after the match had ended.
“Personally, I am happy,” said Giroud. “I did not get many chances, but my legs felt good — even if we did not take all of our chances in this match.
“I want to particularly mention the good team spirit and our start to the game. We showed character and a desire to impose ourselves. It was good, but we can do better too.”
Deschamps, 49, was encouraged by what he saw from his players and admitted that the rain made the final 15 minutes virtually unplayable.
“I saw a lot of good things — there is already a mindset and individual commitment to serving the squad,” the French tactician said. “It is true that the final quarter of an hour was not really football because of the conditions, but it was a good match to prepare because of the work that we put in.”
Kylian Mbappe impressed as part of a front three that also featured Fekir and Giroud, which the Paris Saint-Germain man admitted was an untested combination.
“It went well, it was a good start,” said Mbappe. “I played alongside two top players and adjusted to them well.
“The idea for us in attack was to always be moving and not have a fixed position. The coach requested a maximum of mobility — we tried to do that, even Olivier, so it was not bad!”
Next up for France are Italy in Nice on Friday before the United States in Lyon the following week, which is the final friendly before Les Bleus‘ World Cup Group C opener against Australia in Kazan on June 16.
Jonathan Johnson covers PSG and the French national team for ESPN FC. Twitter: @Jon_LeGossip.
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