• ‘We’d like to neutralise him but know he can make difference’ • France need Antoine Griezmann to spark against Argentina

If a manager’s demeanour in front of the cameras is an indication of the state of his team then France risk staring into the void. The auditorium inside the Kazan Arena is cavernous but after 20 minutes in the presence of Didier Deschamps it seemed to have been sucked dry of air. Nobody present came away feeling remotely illuminated as to how his team may galvanise themselves to overcome Argentina on Saturday, although they did, at least, depart reassured Deschamps knew the identity of their bete noire.

“Messi is Messi,” pronounced Deschamps, an observation he repeated later on for good measure. “We’d like to mark and neutralise him but we know very well he can make the difference with very little. We have to take that into account.”

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France will look to keep Messi quiet with three defenders – Samuel Umtiti, Raphaël Varane and Lucas Hernandez – familiar with him from La Liga and the most salient point in Deschamps’ show of monotony came when he was invited to reflect on whether such knowledge may count in their favour.

“I hope to be able to answer after the match with a yes,” he said. “I’m not sure it’s an advantage but it’s not a disadvantage. If you’ve played against him already, you may be aware of some situations that repeat themselves.”

One state of affairs seemingly stuck on an eternal loop is France’s inability to get the most from a wealth of talent that, now Germany have departed, is rivalled only by Spain for depth. France never threatened to go the same way as the Germans in the group stage and ended up qualifying with ease; it was largely stultifying fare though and more than once Deschamps felt compelled to defend their performances on account of their relative inexperience.

“I’m not looking for excuses,” he said. “On the contrary. But as you know, we have 14 players who’ve never competed at a World Cup. Five played for the first time against Australia, another five against Denmark, so whatever their individual abilities I think this should allow some indulgence.”

It still fails to explain adequately why France’s attacking players appear so inhibited. Antoine Griezmann has been among those to start uncertainly, although it presumably does not help that Deschamps cannot settle on whether to play him as a No 9 or No 10. “The beginning was a bit difficult,” Deschamps admitted of a player France desperately need to pick up some form. “He played 65 minutes against Denmark and that was good for him because he picked up some rhythm, some momentum. It’s true the French team needs Antoine Griezmann at the top level and he’s doing everything for this to be the case.”

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It was, in the manner of his other contributions to the session, neither a ringing endorsement nor a kick up the backside. Hugo Lloris, taking the floor before Deschamps, had been a fittingly stiff warm-up act but he did point to the potential impact of another France forward, Kylian Mbappé, whose early-career exploits have drawn inevitable comparisons with Messi.

“Kylian has huge potential,” Lloris said of the Paris Saint-Germain player, who scored the winner against Peru and has been France’s liveliest player so far. “He’s fast, explosive, needs space, and I think he will have more space than in the first three matches. We will have to step up our level and Mbappé has the ability to make the difference at big moments.”

Lloris said several times that Saturday marks the start of a new World Cup, a knockout tournament of clean slates and new possibilities. It at least brings hope that, should they break with the habit of their spokesmen and stop going through the motions, France may just click after all.