Regeneration a necessity for Deschamps and Koeman

For France and the Netherlands, a hell of a lot has happened since Qatar. A hell of a lot hasn’t happened too.

VAVAVOOM: France's forward Kylian Mbappe and teammates arrive for a training session at the Stade de France on Thursday. Pic: Franck FIFE / AFP) (Photo by FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images)

In a long, windowless bunker fully eight levels down from the top tier of the Lusail Stadium, Louis van Gaal’s final Dutch era came to an end. Qatar’s air-conditioned World Cup would continue but, almost in solidarity with the eliminated Oranje, the cooling machines weren’t working in the press conference room.

It was oppressively stuffy as Van Gaal lamented an all-too-familiar ending. “It is incredibly painful,” he said. "Particularly because I did everything I could to prevent this from happening.”