Mental strength paid off for France, says Deschamps

France have shut out all the euphoria back home over their run to the World Cup final in order to play a perfect match against Croatia on Sunday, France captain Hugo Lloris said.

The goalkeeper said the team were not being swept up by the wave of celebrations back home and were keeping their focus firmly on their shot of earning a second World Cup title after 1998 when they take on the Croatians in Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium.

"To be honest we are in our little bubble and we don't know what is happening in France," Lloris told reporters on Saturday.

"We are far from thinking that we have reached our goal. We will face a high-quality opponent and they deserve as much credit as we do.

"They have displayed their physical and mental strengths and tomorrow we will need a great French team to win."

France have never needed to go beyond 90 minutes in their run to the final after beating Argentina in the round of 16, Uruguay in the last eight and Belgium in the semi-finals.

But Croatia had to battle from a goal down in all three of their knockout matches to beat Denmark, Russia and England.

They played extra time in all of them and needed penalties against the Danes and hosts Russia.

"Croatia have shown their mental strength which is quite incredible. They have managed to qualify after extra time three times in a row. There is something special in this team," Lloris warned.

"They also have an incredible collective strength. We have a lot of respect for them. We need to perform at a high level and deliver a perfect match to win," said the keeper.

France are in their third World Cup final after winning in 1998 and losing to Italy in 2006. They also reached the Euro final on home soil two years ago only to lose to Portugal.

Lloris said that defeat was not on their minds any longer, with many current players not part of the 2016 team.

"I think that our team is quite calm. I do not really know if we realise how far we have come but it is better that way," Lloris said. "We have this inner strength from the beginning of the tournament with which we can overcome any challenge."

"Tomorrow will be the most important match of our career. It will be a special match because it is a World Cup final and we have to stay in our bubble to focus on the ultimate goal."

France's soccer coach will have a subway train station named after him to celebrate his World Cup win and poet Victor Hugo will have to share his memorial slot on Paris's transport map with the team's goalkeeper and captain.

As "Les Bleus" headed home with the World Cup trophy on Monday, the French capital's RATP transport authority said it was renaming six metro subway stations in their honour for the day.

One station, Notre-Dame des Champs, will now be called Notre Didier Deschamps (Our Didier Deschamps), in an hommage to the coach.

Didier Deschamps is one of just three men in the history of the World Cup to take the trophy as team coach after winning it as a player - he helped the team to its first victory in the tournament in 1998.

Victor Hugo station is being renamed Victor Hugo Lloris after captain and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.

Bercy station will become "Bercy les Bleus", close to "Merci Les Bleus".

"Les Bleus" are returning on Monday from World Cup host country Russia to celebrate their victory with a parade on the Champs Elysees.

At one end of that avenue another subway stop called "Charles de Gaulle - Etoile" is being renamed "On a 2 Étoiles", replacing the wartime leader with the boast "We have two stars", one for each World Cup win.

With demand for the French team jersey surging, police urged crowds to move away from the entrance of the Nike shop on the Champs Elysees early on Monday.

England, which surprised many by getting as far as the semis, has changed Southgate station on the London Underground to Gareth Southgate Station in honour of the national coach.

France coach Didier Deschamps said Monday that a report claiming captain Kylian Mbappe was being investigated for rape in Sweden "is not a good thing for the national team".

Mbappe is being investigated for rape by Swedish police, according to a newspaper report in Sweden following a visit by the Real Madrid star to Stockholm, which Mbappe denounced as "fake news".

After Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet reported that an alleged rape had been reported to police but did not say who was accused, Expressen newspaper said 25-year-old Mbappe was the suspect.

"According to information obtained by Expressen, police are investigating the star who is reasonably suspected of rape and sexual assault," the newspaper wrote.

"Everyone is free to write what they want but there is a negative atmosphere" around the French team, Deschamps told reporters following the 2-1 win in Belgium in the UEFA Nations League.

His comments came in response to questions about Mbappe, the France skipper who was allowed to sit out the team's games this month in order to work on his fitness.

That was already a source of controversy in the build-up to last Thursday's win against Israel, before a newspaper in Sweden on Monday claimed that the Real Madrid striker was being investigated for rape following a visit to Stockholm.

After Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet reported that an alleged rape had been reported to police but did not say who was accused, another publication, Expressen, said 25-year-old Mbappe was the suspect.

The player has denounced the report as "fake news".

"Be careful when you pick things up," Deschamps warned.

"You had better take a bit of a step back before publishing anything and everything, but these things happen so often," he said, appearing to cast doubt on the report.

"There are things that are not difficult to verify, but if you credit any old thing...

"In any case I am not going to talk to him about it. He is big enough to know how to communicate."

Swedish law enforcement differentiate the level of suspicion as either reasonable or probable, with reasonable being the lower degree of suspicion.

Mbappe's entourage, when contacted by AFP, said it had no knowledge of a legal complaint made against him.

The French international was not selected for his country's latest round of Nations League matches, so visited the Swedish capital with a group of people last Thursday.

They dined at a restaurant before going to a nightclub, according to the Aftonbladet report. Mbappe and the group left Sweden on Friday.

The newspaper said a rape was committed "in Stockholm city centre", citing a formal complaint made to police on Saturday that it had seen.

Aftonbladet said the complaint was filed after the alleged victim had sought medical attention but did not say who was named in the accusation.

Later, Expressen reported that Mbappe was the suspect.

Mbappe himself claimed in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that there was a link between the Aftonbladet report and his hearing before a French league committee on Tuesday in his bitter dispute with his former club Paris Saint-Germain over what he says are unpaid wages.

Mbappe claims he is owed 55 million euros ($60 million) by the Qatari-owned French champions.

"FAKE NEWS !!!!. It's becoming so predictable, on the eve of the hearing, as if by chance," Mbappe posted.

A prosecutor investigating the accusation told AFP: "A probe is under way into a crime that was reported on October 10 in the centre of Stockholm."

- 'Slanderous' -

Swedish police declined to give any further details.

"In general, if we have received a complaint and decided to conduct interviews and we make it known (to the public), those involved in the case may take actions that delay and complicate the investigation," said police spokeswoman Carina Skagerlind.

Aftonbladet published photos on its website on Monday showing police officers in front of the hotel where Mbappe and the group with him had stayed.

Mbappe's entourage said in a statement sent to AFP: "Today, a new slanderous rumour is starting to spread across the web from the Swedish media Aftonbladet.

"These accusations are completely false and irresponsible, and their propagation is unacceptable.

"In order to put an end to this methodical destruction of (the) image (of Kylian Mbappe), all necessary legal action will be taken to re-establish the truth and pursue any person or media involved in the moral harassment and defamatory treatment that Kylian Mbappe is suffering repeatedly," the statement added.

A source close to Paris Saint-Germain told AFP it would "ignore" Mbappe's claim that there was a link between the report in Sweden and his dispute with the club.

Mbappe joined Madrid in the summer after seven years at PSG.

He has become one of the world's highest paid players after a stellar career.

He joined Pele as the only teenager to score in a World Cup final when France beat Croatia 4-2 to win the 2018 edition and was voted Best Young Player of the tournament.

Four years later in Qatar, he scored a hat-trick in the final against Argentina but finished on the losing side as Lionel Messi's side won in a penalty shootout.

Russia was the target of almost 25 million cyber-attacks during the World Cup, President Vladimir Putin said, though he did not indicate who may have been behind the attacks.

"During the period of the World Cup, almost 25 million cyber-attacks and other criminal acts on the information structures in Russia, linked in one way or another to the World Cup, were neutralised," Putin said during a meeting on Sunday with security services. The comments were reported by the Kremlin on Monday.

France captain Kylian Mbappe has been left out of his team's UEFA Nations League matches this month after coach Didier Deschamps on Thursday named his squad.

The Real Madrid star returned from a short spell on the sidelines, with a thigh injury, to appear as a substitute in the surprise 1-0 defeat at Lille in the Champions League on Wednesday.

However, the 25-year-old will play no part in France's games against Israel and Belgium, a decision clearly made in order to allow Mbappe to rest and work on his fitness.

France play Israel on Thursday, October 10 in an away fixture moved to Budapest due to the security situation in the Middle East.

Les Bleus, Nations League winners in 2021, will then take on Belgium in Brussels on Monday, October 14.

France have three points after their first two outings in Group A2, which is topped by Italy with six points.

Thursday's squad announcement was the first by Deschamps since vice-captain Antoine Griezmann retired from international football at the beginning of this week.

Chelsea's Christopher Nkunku, who won the last of his 10 caps in June last year, returns to the squad.

France squad

Goalkeepers: Alphonse Areola (West Ham United/ENG), Mike Maignan (AC Milan/ITA), Brice Samba (Lens)

Defenders: Jonathan Clauss (Nice), Lucas Digne (Aston Villa/ENG), Wesley Fofana (Chelsea/ENG), Theo Hernandez (AC Milan/ITA), Ibrahima Konate (Liverpool/ENG), Jules Kounde (Barcelona/ESP), William Saliba (Arsenal/ENG), Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich/GER)

Midfielders: Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid/ESP), Youssouf Fofana (AC Milan/ITA), Matteo Guendouzi (Lazio/ITA), Manu Kone (Roma/ITA), Aurelien Tchouameni (Real Madrid/ESP), Warren Zaire-Emery (Paris Saint-Germain)

Forwards: Bradley Barcola, Ousmane Dembele, Randal Kolo Muani (all Paris Saint-Germain), Christopher Nkunku (Chelsea/ENG), Michael Olise (Bayern Munich/GER), Marcus Thuram (Inter Milan/ITA)