Didier Deschamps set to speak about Paris terrorist attacks
Monday 16 November 2015 11:38, UK
France boss Didier Deschamps will speak about the Paris terror attacks for the first time in a news conference at 5pm on Monday afternoon.
Three suicide bombers blew themselves up outside the Stade de France on Friday when France were playing Germany in a friendly.
Four more shocking attacks took place across the French capital that night.
One hundred and twenty-nine people died, but the French Football Federation (FFF) insisted Les Bleus' game at Wembley would go ahead as cancelling it would send the wrong message to the terrorists and the wider world.
The squad will land in London on Monday morning and then head to Wembley for a press conference in the evening at the national stadium.
Deschamps, who has not spoken about the attacks in public, is expected to address the atrocities at the news conference, which is followed by a training session at the stadium in north London.
He was too shocked to speak to the media after the final whistle on Friday night.
"Didier Deschamps doesn't have the heart to speak," FFF media officer Philippe Tournon told the press at the stadium after the 2-0 win over the Germans.
On Saturday the France coach told his players they could withdraw from the squad if they felt they were not up to playing in London, but none of them have done so.
"All the players are coming," Tournon said.
That means Lassana Diarra and Antoine Griezmann will take part in the friendly despite being directly affected by the attacks.
Diarra's cousin Asta Diakite died in the attacks.
Griezmann's sister managed to escape the mass killing at the Bataclan theatre, where 89 people died after it was stormed by armed terrorists.
The FA and England manager Roy Hodgson expressed their condolences to the people of France on Saturday.
For Tuesday's friendly, the Wembley Arch will be lit up in the red, white and blue colours of the French flag to show solidarity with the visiting nation.
Screens will show the French motto 'Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite' outside the ground and before kick-off the words of La Marseillaise - the French national anthem - will be shown to help any England fans who want to join in.
