Get free access to the most comprehensive World Cup coverage in The Athletic app.It was an ordinary day at the office for New England Revolution II head coach Pablo Moreira. Preparing for their MLS Next Pro match against Chicago Fire II, liaising with the first team about which youngsters were to be promoted and answering a knock at the door from sporting director Curt Onalfo.Only, Onalfo arrived with an extraordinary proposition: could Moreira coach a game against France in 48 hours’ time?“France? The national team, France? You’re kidding, right?” was Moreira’s reaction.It was no joke. After their opening 3-1 win against Senegal, Didier Deschamps wanted to maintain the sharpness of the players who had not featured or had made a brief cameo from the bench.You know, the little understudies: Rayan Cherki, Bradley Barcola, Maghnes Akliouche, N’Golo Kante, Marcus Thuram, Warren Zaire-Emery, Ibrahima Konate, Lucas Hernandez.Based at the Four Seasons Hotel in Boston and training north-west of the city at Bentley University, Foxboro-based Revolution were the obvious sparring partners.But the first team were only just back after their break and several of Moreira’s Next Pro squad — they play in the third tier of the U.S. soccer system — training up with the senior team. It meant teenagers from the academy and a raft of players who had been allowed to leave for college clubs — in the amateur fifth tier — were brought back into the fold.Matthew Tibbetts, Alex Parvu, Jack Burkhardt, Mason Sullivan, Steban Lopera, Jamie Kabuusu, Kian Charris, Josh Partal, Logan Azar, Marco Dos Santos, Gianluca Armellino, Braedon Smith, Rafa Alves and Paulo Tornberg, all between the age of 15 and 21, were put to the test.“We giggled about what we were doing at 15 and 16, because we weren’t playing France,” says Moreira.“We made a couple of tongue-in-cheek jokes about some of our younger guys tracking back their stars. We couldn’t believe we were saying those names in the same sentence.“In terms of our fixtures, it didn’t really fit because it fell two days before our league game but, because of the nature of it, there was no way we could pass it up.”Pablo Moreira’s players were able to play alongside and against France internationals (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)While dialogue went on about what format would provide France with the best test, Moreira held off breaking the news. It was a futile task. The rumours had already spread, to the extent that Jake Shannon and Gabe Dahlin — two 22-year-olds who were signed from UNC Wilmington and Cedar Stars respectively in the past year — approached him after training to stress how much they wanted the opportunity.“They couldn’t believe it,” says Moreira. “We were trying to play coy but they did some detective work and got to the bottom of it. I said: ‘Listen guys, we’ll do it, but the biggest thing is that I need you guys to train at the very top level the next day. We’re still in the middle of our season’.”Those two ended up missing out due to first-team requirements but Moreira gathered a group of around 10 players and sent France a document with detailed profiles of the players he had available. Rather than face off against each other, it was decided they would mix the teams and play three 30-minute periods.So, Revolution’s youngsters hopped on a coach to Bentley University, where they had police search the bus and ID checks to make sure everyone was who they said they were.Then they were flung into a game against what Moreira believes is the deepest national squad ever assembled.“It was awesome because it’s one thing to play against but they got to play with those players,” he says.“They prioritised the physical. That was probably the best way to go. I’m no French national team coach but I think he was spot on because the level would have been off. We could have set up like mannequins but how much are they really getting out of it?“They got a 90-minute load out of it and they were literally speaking to our guys by name, telling them to shift left and right. It felt like the Twilight Zone. Is this real? To see our guys integrated at the highest level was a beautiful thing.”What goes into making a World Cup football?Liam Tharme and Rachael TindeMoreira’s coaching career started at Portland Timbers and Columbus Crew before serving as Revolution’s first-team assistant coach and interim last season, which meant he came up against Inter Miami and Lionel Messi. In December, he took over the second string.This game allowed his young players to be exposed to a level of player they usually only see on the TV screen.“It’s the spatial awareness that means you are chasing shadows,” Moreira says. “Especially Konate in the middle. He didn’t take a wrong step. We had guys nowhere near his level but his ability to make players next to him better and organise. He was so clean with his passing. It was like a video game.Konate was talking to centre-back Jack Burkhardt, 20, who grew up in the academy before leaving for Boston Eagles.“I was thinking: ‘In what world does this happen?’. He was playing in college two months ago and is now being directed by one of the best defenders in the world.”Moreira was proud of how much running his players put into the exercise but he reminded them beforehand that they were there to serve France’s needs.“Our guys did a good job of connecting the dots. We told them if there is a 50-50 tackle and you even think of going in for it, we are taking you off. That was my biggest concern.“This was our guys’ World Cup final, so the last thing you want is for something like that to happen, but thankfully everyone came out good.“If we’re honest, most of these guys will never play at that level or against that level ever again. It’s great to see it, to feel it. It’s a benchmark for them.“One player who immediately benefited from it was 15-year-old midfielder Logan Azar, who played right-back in the game.“I’m not saying he stood out but he didn’t drop the level in training,” Moreira says. “I am telling you, the confidence he got from that game, just being on the pitch with that level of player, leaked into our game on Sunday.“Everything was moving so fast. I don’t think he realised what happened until it was over. When you are young, you don’t understand the magnitude of it.”Sights, sounds from Week 1 of World CupNorway and Scotland have used Revolution’s training base on the day before their matches in Boston but this was the true elite up close. The two teams grouped together for a squad photo and had time to mingle after the game.This Tuesday, another run-out has been schedule to aid the stellar cast who did not start against Iraq in Monday’s 3-0 storm-delayed win. The calendar will allow for Moreira’s usual XI to take part this time and it could offer France a better opportunity to match up directly against the Revolution’s second string.It would present their coach with an opportunity to pit his wits against an elite manager, just as he did in August 2014 when serving as video analyst for MLS All Stars’ 2-1 victory over Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich.“They took it as a friendly and we did not,” says Moreira. “All-Star games are one of those things where you usually just roll a team out. We had a game plan, knew their formation, set triggers. Pep was not happy with that at all. It was funny. One of his staff refused to shake our hand.”With France through to the last 32 and Friday’s final Group I match against Norway set to decide who finishes top, the prospect of going toe-to-toe with the 2018 winners and 2022 finalists is tantalising.“If they give us guidelines or formations we will follow it, but if not this is my team,” Moreira adds. “Tuesday, we will be able to physically do it and the guys who were with the first team have a chance to play.“If they don’t integrate it then it is 10 toes in the ground and we’re getting ready for it, but I’m definitely going the 2014 route.”