Deschamps warns France against complacency ahead of Iraq clash at 2026 World Cup

Didier Deschamps sounded the alarm in his dressing room before France-Iraq, France’s second group match at the 2026 World Cup, scheduled for Monday night at 23:00. After their opening victory against Senegal (3-1), the French are warned: Iraq is not a team to be taken lightly.

The head coach held a meeting as early as Friday to nip any complacency in the bud. He reminded his players that Iraq had secured their World Cup qualification by beating Bolivia 2-1 in the playoff final, played in Mexico. He then mentioned a warm-up match against Spain, which ended in a 1-1 draw. “Do not consider them a small team because they are not, I can assure you,” he told his squad.

Deschamps also referenced the match against Norway, where Iraq came back to 2-1 in the 75th minute before conceding two goals late in the game — a sequence that illustrates, in his view, Iraq’s ability to remain dangerous until the end. “Do not any of you think it will be easy because we are the France team,” he insisted, warning that other major nations had already paid the price for such arrogance in the competition.

The French coach’s message boils down to a few words: Iraq “does simple things, but does them well.” A deliberately understated formula to maintain the focus of a squad that, with a second consecutive victory, would secure their place in the round of 16 of the tournament.