Les Bleus wary of Denmark threat

France coach Didier Deschamps said the defending champion has "a lot of respect" for Denmark after the teams were drawn in the same World Cup group.

"You have to have a lot of respect," said Deschamps. "They are the 11th-ranked FIFA team, semifinalists at the Euros and if they are ahead of Germany and the Netherlands, it proves the quality of this team."

France and Denmark will be familiar rivals as they also meet in the Nations League in June and September before the World Cup starts in November.

"I don't know if it's ideal," said Deschamps. "They too will have the advantage of knowing us even better, even if these two meetings, one in June, one in September in the Nations League, are not the same thing."

The teams faced each other at the 2002 World Cup when Denmark shocked the defending champion 2-0 in South Korea, a defeat which meant an embarrassing first-round exit for the French.

They also met at the 2018 tournament which ended in a drab 0-0 draw in Moscow.

Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand warned France to prepare for a tough clash against a Danish side which will be "ready to fight".

"We already have two matches in the Nations League against them so it will be three times in five months," said Hjulmand.

"The French are one of the big favorites, with so much talent, and they are the defending champions. So they are clearly one of the toughest opponents.

"We are preparing for the teams we are going to face. But I advise you (France) to also prepare because we have a very good team and we will be ready to fight."

Denmark's best performance at the World Cup was a run to the quarterfinals in 1998 when it was defeated 3-2 by Brazil. Captain Simon Kjaer said his team is confident of making the last 16 in Qatar out of a group which also includes Tunisia and either Peru, Australia or the United Arab Emirates.