This Friday at 8:45 p.m. (CET), Paris Saint-Germain (1st) will host Strasbourg (3rd) at the Parc des Princes as part of Matchday 8 of the 2025–2026 Ligue 1 season. Ahead of the clash, Abdoul Ouattara, Strasbourg’s 19-year-old midfielder, spoke at a press conference about the challenge awaiting his team. The young talent made it clear — Strasbourg is coming to Paris with the goal of winning.
Ouattara: “Help each other, run, play with intensity.”
“We’re trying to approach the match in the best possible way. We have what it takes to win at the Parc des Princes. We’ve worked all week for that, and we’re ready to go there and take all three points.
We just need to follow the coach’s instructions to the letter, help each other, run, play with intensity, play our football — and then we’ll see what happens.”
Ouattara: “We’d be top of the league.”
“If we manage to do that, we’d be top of the table. But we have to take it one game at a time and keep going like this.”
It’s refreshing to hear such determination from a young player who shows no fear before facing the league leaders. His words echo those of coach Liam Rosenior, who has instilled confidence and belief in his squad. Strasbourg isn’t traveling to Paris to sit back — they want to compete and push for a statement result.
Ouattara also highlights what will be essential to pull off an upset: collective effort, discipline, and intensity. For PSG, the challenge will be to respond with focus and rhythm after the international break — and to start this new stretch of the season strong before the November pause.
