France's momentum not impacted by Tunisia defeat, says Coman

By Julien Pretot

DOHA (Reuters) - France's 1-0 defeat against Tunisia in their final Group D game will not affect the defending champions' momentum at the World Cup as they head into a last-16 clash against Poland on Sunday, Kingsley Coman said on Thursday.

Coach Didier Deschamps fielded a second-string team, having made nine changes from the one that beat Denmark 2-1 in the previous match, and the overall impression was hugely disappointing.

"The most important is that we're first in the group and we're focused on the next game," said Coman, who started the match on Wednesday, in a news conference.

"It has no impact on our momentum, we've already turned our sights to the Poland game. Of course we want to win all the matches but it won't affect our mood."

For Coman, starting a World Cup game was "a childhood dream come true" and he knows he is on a learning curve, just like fellow forward Randal Kolo Muani.

"You learn every day during training. I'm still young, this is my third season, I'm still learning," Kolo Muani, 23, said.

"Olivier (Giroud) gives me a lot of advice, I also talk to Kylian (Mbappe). I watch and we will try to reproduce what they do. With Kylian, we talk a lot. He is very important for us. He counts a lot and is one of the leaders, I confirm."

(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Milla Nissi)