sport news World Cup: Didier Deschamps believes England have 'no weaknesses' and defends ... trends now The mind games begin! France boss Didier Deschamps claims England have 'no weaknesses' ahead of their World Cup quarter-final clash... and insists Gareth Southgate is 'not appreciated or valued in his country' By Kieran Lynch For Mailonline Published: 11:26 GMT, 9 December 2022 | Updated: 11:32 GMT, 9 December 2022 Viewcomments France manager Didier Deschamps has started the mind games by claiming that England have 'no weaknesses' going into their World Cup quarter-final clash. The two nations will face each other on Saturday night, in what is the biggest game of the tournament so far - consisting of two of the favourites to lift the trophy in Qatar. During his pre-match press conference, Deschamps said England had 'no weaknesses in particular' but that his side have to identify 'certain aspects where we could hurt them'. Didier Deschamps says his France need to find ways to hurt an England side with 'no weakness' England's match with France will see one of the tournament's favourites crash out on Saturday He also came to the defence of his opposing number Gareth Southgate, who he has previously had the chance to meet and speak to. Deschamps said: 'He’s not especially appreciated or valued in his country. Just because he’s been a player previously doesn’t mean he can’t be a very good manager. 'He’s had some good results. On a human level, he’s someone I like a lot.' Deschamps defended Gareth Southgate claiming he's 'not appreciated in his country' The manager who guided France to World Cup glory four years ago, also said his side needed to spread the danger across the frontline to prevent England from constantly focusing on star player Kylian Mbappe. Mbappe has arguably been the player of the tournament so far, and he leads the scoring charts with five goals in four games. He put in his best performance in France's 3-1 victory over Poland in the last round where he netted a brace, in the same game that Olivier Giroud also broke France's all-time scoring record. Deschamps wants Mbappe's team-mates across the forward line to help take the focus off him He said: 'Kylian has this capacity to make the difference. In the last game, where he wasn’t at his best compared to the first two, he was still decisive. Spreading the danger for our opponents will avoid the focus being on him.' Deschamps was also asked about his future as France manager, after French Football Federation president Noel Le Graet insisted he would like the 54-year-old to stay around after the World Cup. The manager though insisted he was focused on reaching the last-four despite admitting that he appreciated Le Graet's comments. Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility