Monday, December 5, 2022 at 00:05• Jonathan van Haaster • Last update: 00:03

Jules Koundé has not made a good turn with national coach Didier Deschamps. France’s right back played in the round of 16 match against Poland (3-1 win) and in the early stages it was already noticeable that he had a chain on. The Barcelona defender had to take off his jewels in the 40th minute after an assistant referee discovered the forbidden object. Deschamps said at the press conference afterwards that he was not happy with his pupil.

“I even told him: ‘You’re lucky you weren’t standing in front of me, because otherwise…'”, Deschamps started about the incident. “The referee told us when there was a dead moment. Players are not allowed to wear bracelets or necklaces. They are also not going to wear watches or sunglasses. It’s not allowed. I thought he was going to take it off, but apparently that wasn’t the case. It’s our fault”, Deschamps put his hand in his own bosom.

According to the choice lord, Koundé wears the necklace because of superstition. He would also always wear the piece of jewelery during training. Even without a chain, the 24-year-old defender managed to complete a good match. Axel Disasi relieved the basic customer in injury time. Koundé started the tournament as a reserve player, but after the game against Australia (4-1 victory), in which Benjamin Pavard did not leave a too strong impression, he did not disappear from Deschamps’ first eleven. Koundé will probably start from the beginning again on Saturday in the quarterfinals against England.