Coach Deschamps is angry because his students are superstitious

"He's not allowed to do that," coach Deschamps replied after the game when asked about Kounde having to remove his necklace while playing in France's 3-1 win over Poland in the round of 16 of the 2022 World Cup.

According to the 54-year-old leader, Kounde had previously worn the necklace during training sessions because of superstition and was warned by him. "I told Kounde not to let the necklace appear in front of me," Deschamps added.

Kounde wore the necklace for 42 minutes before being discovered by the line umpire. A member of the French coaching staff then helped the 24-year-old remove the chain.

According to coach Deschamps, the referees have reminded him of the rule that players are not allowed to wear bracelets, necklaces, watches and other types of jewelry to avoid causing injury to themselves and others. Kounde did not receive a penalty from the referee, before being substituted in the 90th minute.

Two minutes after Kounde's incident, France opened the scoring against Poland thanks to Olivier Giroud's goal. The Milan striker went down in history as France's top scorer with 52 goals. Coach Deschamps' students then scored two more goals in the second half, all thanks to Kylian Mbappe and closed the match with a 3-1 victory.

Regarding this match, coach Deschamps said that the score did not reflect the difficulties that France faced. He said: "Poland is very well organized and we are really in trouble. France solves the problem thanks to individuals like Kylian Mbappe. He has the quality to make a difference."

France reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup for the third time in a row, meeting England on the evening of December 10. If they win this year, they will be the third team in history to defend the World Cup title, after Brazil and Italy.