Désiré Doué, the 21-year-old Paris Saint-Germain and France midfielder/forward, spoke to M6 after the 1-0 victory over Paraguay on Saturday night in the 2026 World Cup Round of 16. He discussed the challenge of playing against a highly aggressive Paraguayan side and commented on the upcoming quarter-final against Morocco on Thursday at 10 PM.
Doué: “That’s an area where we need to improve, too.”
It was a complicated, tense match; you won the penalty that led to the breakthrough. Can you tell us about it?
It was a high-intensity match with a lot of physical duels. We’d said before the game that we had to be ready. There was the heat, of course, but above all, there was this team playing very aggressively in every challenge. We had to stay calm throughout the match.
We managed to do that, though we did lose our cool at times. That’s an area where we need to improve, too. But ultimately, we were clinical, we got the goal, and that’s what matters most today: qualifying.
Doué: “The ball is at your feet. You shouldn’t overthink it.”
What were the Paraguayans saying to you?
They were speaking Spanish (smiles). There were a lot of knocks and provocations. But you have to tune all that out. That’s certainly what I did.
How do you stay in the game and keep your focus?
In football, you aren’t going to get punched or kicked in the head. You just have to play. The ball is at your feet. You shouldn’t overthink it. If they want to provoke, that’s their problem. They showed quality today, but the most important thing is that we qualified. And that experience will serve us well in the upcoming matches, too.
Doué: “They’re a really strong team.”
A word on Morocco?
It’s going to be a big match; we’ll have time to talk about it again and prepare for it. In any case, they’re a really strong team.
