Antonio López's remarks sparked plenty of discussion in Brazil as well.
Among the voices was Antônio Rodrigues, Brazil's well-known football commentator, who said he agreed wholeheartedly. "I also think they'll go with a three-defensive-midfielder formation.
And honestly, I'm all for it.
Paulinho and Fernandinho are both excellent at making late runs into the box. In the Premier League, Fernandinho pushes forward to score all the time.
If the two of them start together, they could turn the tide of a match.
This kind of setup is rare in football history.
During the game, France will certainly try to shut down your style, controlling the tempo while looking for chances to counter.
That's when we need Gustavo holding the back, protecting the defence.
I think Willian should start, but Fred needs to be on the pitch too.
Because in a three-defensive-midfielder system, a pace player like Fred gets a lot of room to work with and at the same time, we need to push Hulk up top.
Given how Brazil has already shown weaknesses in controlling the midfield, the three-man defensive-midfield system might be our last, best card to play."
Deschamps was, of course, paying attention to all of this too.
But in the end, Deschamps didn't let himself get swept up in the outside noise. He had his own approach, and he was sticking to it!
Of course, Deschamps was also waiting on FIFA's final ruling to see whether Thiago Silva would make it onto the squad list after all.
On the morning of the 7th, the result finally came out!
FIFA issued a statement, rejecting the Brazilian Football Confederation's appeal on both counts—Zúñiga's foul and the request to reduce Thiago Silva's suspension.
Facing the host nation's repeated pleas, FIFA answered flatly: not happening.
In the official statement, FIFA first expressed concern over Neymar's injury, calling it a great misfortune.
But at the same time, FIFA stated that its Disciplinary Committee had no authority to intervene in Zúñiga's foul on Neymar.
The statement said, whether Zúñiga should face further punishment fell outside FIFA's jurisdiction.
According to FIFA regulations, a player's foul can only trigger a post-match review by the Disciplinary Committee to determine whether harsher punishment is warranted—if the foul in question drew a red or yellow card on the pitch.
But in the quarterfinal between Brazil and Colombia, the referee never showed Zúñiga a card of either colour for that foul.
Therefore, Zúñiga's foul fell outside the scope of FIFA's post-match review.
In the same statement, FIFA said: "We regret anything that happens on the pitch that endangers a player's health. We hope Neymar, and all players injured during this World Cup, recover swiftly."
At the same time, regarding the Brazilian Football Confederation's appeal to reduce Thiago Silva's suspension—FIFA said the Disciplinary Committee could find no provision in the rules that would support such an appeal.
The appeal was therefore rejected, and Brazil's captain would still miss the semifinal against France.
The moment this decision came out, Brazil erupted in outrage.
Fans lashed out at FIFA, feeling they were being singled out—Brazil had already lost Neymar, and now, over a single yellow card, Thiago Silva wouldn't be able to play either.
And what made it worse, the brutal foul on Neymar hadn't even drawn a punishment at all!
As soon as Deschamps got word of this, he called an emergency tactical meeting.
At the meeting, Deschamps laid it out clearly. "Everyone knows the position Brazil is in right now—Neymar's out injured, Silva's suspended. That's their biggest weakness.
With Silva gone, Brazil's back line has lost its commanding presence. David Luiz has had to shift positions and pair with a substitute centre-back he barely has any chemistry with. That's our first point of attack.
With Neymar gone, Brazil has lost their only real breakthrough threat and attacking organizer. Their forward play will turn disorganized, short on creativity. That's the second gap we need to exploit."
Deschamps picked up his marker and drew France's 4-5-1 formation on the tactics board, marking out each player's position one by one.
This system balanced defensive solidity with counterattacking punch.
"We'll go with a 4-5-1. On defence, we collapse the centre and lock down the flanks. On offense, we press high and hit them on the counter, backed up by set pieces—layer after layer of pressure, grinding down their mentality and their back line, until we don't give them a single moment to breathe!"
Deschamps went through the assignments with the back line and midfield again, in detail.
Though honestly, they'd already drilled this enough over the past few days.
They knew how to strangle Brazil's attack.
Next, Deschamps laid out the attacking tactics in detail. Defence mattered, sure, but offense was the real key to beating Brazil.
Deschamps didn't want this going to penalties.
"On offense, we press high, especially targeting Brazil's build-up play from the back.
Giroud, you sit right up top—don't worry about tracking back much. Your main job is pressuring their centre-backs high up the pitch. Neither of them is great with the ball at their feet, so when you press, focus on cutting off their passing lanes, forcing them into rushed clearances. That's how we create chances to steal the ball and hit them on the break."
"Griezmann, and Matuidi—the two of you play as wing-backs. Collapse in on defence, push forward fast on offense, targeting the space behind Brazil's two full-backs."
Deschamps marked out the counterattacking routes on the board. "Maicon's getting up there in age, and he's slow getting back. Marcelo likes to bomb forward and isn't quick to recover either. You two need to exploit that—the moment we win the ball, push forward immediately. Either cross it in for Giroud, or cut inside and shoot. Don't give them time to get back."
With that, Deschamps turned to look at Julien.
"Julien, your role is flexible—roam wherever, link up with your teammates, find the openings."
Julien nodded.
Deschamps also singled out Pogba specifically. "You control the long-ball distribution in midfield. The second we win the ball; first look is Julien or the wing-backs—hit the space behind Brazil's defence. Our counters need to be fast, precise, and lethal."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Brazil's lineup—their defence was their biggest problem!
They had to exploit it!
Deschamps also laid out a phase-by-phase game plan. "Ideally, in the first twenty minutes of the first half, we press high with everything we've got, disrupt Brazil's rhythm, force mistakes, and try to score early—hit their home crowd's morale hard.
Through the middle stretch of the half, we pull back a bit, draw Brazil forward, then exploit the space they leave behind on defence with a quick counter, extend the lead.
In the second half, we keep the pressure up, rotate players to manage fatigue, keep grinding, don't give Brazil any chance to fight back. Once we extend the lead further, we will squeeze their attacking space even more."
The players all nodded.
Deschamps finished by stressing they shouldn't underestimate their opponent. He didn't say much more after that—just told them to rest up. "Get your rest. The last two days, it's recovery training only."
Time passed quickly.
July 8th—matchday for France and Brazil.
At ten in the morning, sunlight poured through the glass windows of the hotel lounge in Belo Horizonte, spilling across the soft sofas.
Less than six hours remained until the semifinal against Brazil, kicking off at four that afternoon at the Estádio Mineirão.
The France players sat scattered in twos and threes, chatting, relaxing.
The conversation kept circling back to the match and to this stadium, the devil's den every visiting team dreaded.
Lloris spoke up. "The Mineirão's going to be buried under Brazilian fans screaming their lungs out. We need to be ready for that devil's-den power. Even without Neymar and Silva, that home-crowd energy is nothing to take lightly."
Varane, sitting nearby, nodded silently at Lloris's words. "We stick to the coach's game plan, hold our own rhythm, don't let the crowd get in our heads. We'll be fine."
Pogba grinned, sounding completely confident. "What's there to be scared of? We beat Germany. Brazil's missing both their stars—if we just play our normal game, we'll take this. Though honestly, my ears are gonna be ringing after today. Brazilians take their football way too seriously."
That got a few quiet laughs out of the guys nearby.
As the conversation went on, Griezmann suddenly spoke up. "Hey, Julien, let's talk about it—today's a big day. You're already at twelve goals, just one shy of Fontaine's record of thirteen in a single World Cup. And just two away from tying Ronaldo and Klose's all-time World Cup record of fifteen. You thinking about breaking both records today? That'd be legendary."
Griezmann's words instantly drew everyone's attention. Heads turned his way.
Julien burst out laughing. "Don't tease me about that. Records, legendary status—all are secondary. Winning is the only thing that matters! Tonight, we've got one goal: get past Brazil, make the final. Everything else is just a bonus."
Even as he said it, something flickered in Julien's eyes—a trace of anticipation.
Two records that most players spend their whole careers chasing.
He'd come from Bastia, all the way to a World Cup semifinal. To say he didn't want the records would be a lie.
But still, the priority stood: winning, making the final—that mattered most.
So, Julien added, "Records only mean something if we win. If chasing goals throws off the tactics, hurts the team—then breaking a record wouldn't be worth anything at all."
He looked up, glancing at the teammates around him. "Let's focus on winning this together. As for the records—let them come naturally. Who knows, maybe tonight really will be my record-breaking night."
The teammates all laughed.
They were looking forward to that moment too.
Finally Brazil local time, a little past three in the afternoon.
The sun over Belo Horizonte was still brutal, its scorching light bearing down on the outer walls of the Estádio Mineirão, the heat was almost unbearable.
Less than an hour remained before kickoff for this hugely anticipated World Cup semifinal.
The entire Mineirão was already completely surrounded by Brazilian fans!
A sea of yellow stretched from the stadium entrance out into the surrounding streets for this moment, yellow seemed to be the city's only colour.
Outside the stadium, in the plazas and along the roads, the crowds were packed with fans in yellow jerseys.
They waved Brazilian flags in their hands, faces painted green and yellow.
Every kind of fervent gesture imaginable, all in support of their team.
Among the crowd were fans holding tickets, lined up orderly, waiting to get in but there were plenty without tickets too, gathered on their own along the perimeter fences. Even if all they could see was the outline of the stadium, even roasted under the blazing sun until sweat soaked through their clothes, none of them seemed to mind in the least.
The sun burned hot enough to sting the skin, and plenty of fans' jerseys were already drenched through with sweat, clinging to their bodies.
Yet not one of them was willing to step back into the shade.
Every single person there was lost in that fervour that belonged to Brazil, and Brazil alone.
That fervour had nothing to do with winning or losing, nothing to do with the lineup—it was pure love for the game, pure devotion to their country's team.
And it was that devotion that truly revealed the Mineirão's power as a devil's den.
At this moment, the stadium inside was already packed to capacity, the yellow of the stands was merging into one unbroken stretch, like a churning, boiling sea.
The live broadcast commentator had already begun warming up the audience for the match. "Good afternoon, everyone!
Welcome to our broadcast—we're live from the Estádio Mineirão in Belo Horizonte, and in less than an hour, the marquee semifinal of the 2014 Brazil World Cup will kick off right here—host nation Brazil, taking on European powerhouse France!
This is a clash between two World Cup champions!
The Mineirão right now—'fervent' doesn't even begin to describe the atmosphere. A sea of yellow, a deafening roar—this is the power of a Brazilian home crowd.
I have no doubt this match will go down as a classic in World Cup history!
Before we get into the match itself, let's take a moment to look back at both teams' World Cup runs, and their head-to-head history at the tournament.
First, let's look at host nation Brazil. As the most successful team in World Cup history, Brazil has already lifted the trophy five times—the most of any nation—a true legend of the footballing world.
This tournament, as hosts, Brazil has fought through round after round. They advanced from the group stage, beat Chile in the round of sixteen, and edged past Colombia 2–1 in the quarterfinal to reach the semifinal.
The process has left plenty of Brazilian fans on edge—they've lost key players one after another, Thiago Silva and Neymar among them but at the very least, they've made it to the final four.
Their opponent, France, is also a longtime World Cup power in its own right. They lifted the trophy on home soil back in 1998, and finished runner-up in 2006, a solid World Cup pedigree.
This tournament, France has shown tremendous attacking form. They came out firing in the group stage, overwhelming every opponent to advance to the knockout rounds.
They beat Nigeria in the round of sixteen, and in the quarterfinal down a man in a dire situation, they pulled off a narrow win over Germany thanks to a late winner from Julien, punching their ticket to the semifinal.
This young, energetic France side is now pushing for the second World Cup title in its history!"
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