PARIS (Reuters) - Many expected France coach Didier Deschamps would be grumpy at a news conference the day before Sunday's European Championship quarter-final against Iceland, having had to travel all the way from his team's base to the Stade de France.
Les Bleus staged their final training session on Saturday at their Clairefontaine base, some 60 kilometres outside Paris, to preserve the Stade de France pitch, the poor condition of which has caused problems during the tournament.
Deschamps and captain Hugo Lloris still had to go to the Stade de France for the mandatory pre-match news conference but both looked relaxed when they arrived.
"In fact the trip was easy and the trip back won't be a problem either, we've got a helicopter," Deschamps said.
The France coach said he had asked the team's security officials about the trip, having an escort in mind, and they had come up with a better solution.
