France vs Romania preview: Favourites attempt to play down expectations ahead of Euro 2016 opener

Manager Didier Deschamps and captain Hugo Lloris strikingly keen to talk up threat of other big sides in last pre-game press conference

France manager Didier Deschamps faces the media ahead of the Euro 2016 opener against Romania (Alex Grimm UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

Being hosts is one pressure. Being favourites quite another. And so France, preparing to open Euro 2016 on Friday night, were naturally trying to deflect attention elsewhere. For all the parallels with France ’98, that team was never expected to win that tournament, certainly not compared to the Brazil side they beat in the final. That was part of the point.

This France team though is favourites – that one word the front cover headline of L’Equipe – and that can change the dynamic, especially going into an opening match against a Romanian side they are expected to beat.

When Hugo Lloris and Didier Deschamps, captain and coach, took the stage at the Stade de France for their last pre-game press conference on Thursday evening, both of them were strikingly keen to talk up the threat of the other big sides.

“We don’t feel like favourites at all,” insisted Lloris, when asked about coping with that expectation. “I don’t think we have done or have proved anything thus far.” He quickly brought up the fact that Spain were the reigning European champions and Germany the world champions, although he did concede that home advantage gave France “a slight positive point” ahead of those two. “We need to make the most of that to give us added strength,” Lloris said, “everything needs to be done from tomorrow.”

France captain Hugo Lloris says France ‘don’t feel like favourites at all’ (Alex Grimm UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

Deschamps followed Lloris on the podium and was very quick to endorse his comments, talking up the teams that have shared the last four major international tournaments between them. “Based on their experience and results over the last few years,” he said, “clearly those two sides do begin the competition with the aim, and a legitimate one, of being able to win it. Clearly I agree with Hugo.”

Deschamps is a tough, prickly individual and every opportunity he had to talk up his team, the occasion and their chances he turned down.

He was asked if he could compare this to France ’98. “No, I am not really looking back,” he said. “It was so long ago, I was not in the same uniform, not in the same role.”

He was asked if his team would blow away opposition with their attacking firepower. “That is it, we are going to say we are the best, the most magnificent,” he joked sarcastically. “No listen, when I picked the squad I knew they were quality players, with different characteristics, able to score lots of goals. We can score goals, but that will not be to the detriment of anything else.”

Clearly France know that they will be facing a Romania team who will try to frustrate them and spoil the party. The reality of the 24-team structure is that four points almost guarantees progress and even three points with a positive goal difference should be enough. That means that there is little incentive for Romania to go for the win and they are likely to dig in instead.

Lloris and Deschamps both talked up Romania’s defensive stability and organisation, and the threat that they will pose on the counter-attack. Deschamps pointed to how quickly Romania can move from defence to attack and said that they did not expect their opponents simply to defend their own 18-yard box.

But in reality France must know that their status as hosts and favourites means that they have to play this game to win from the start, taking the initiative and trying to create chances against a side intent on frustrating them. They have to be incisive and creative, which is why Deschamps is set to choose Dimitri Payet over Anthony Martial for his final remaining starting spot. They will have to move the ball quickly and purposefully, and Deschamps said that for all the possession that they will enjoy, they must be careful not to simply pass the ball for its own sake.

“Possession does not make you win games,” Deschamps said. “I would rather play balls that cut through, vertically, forward passes, even if you may lose a few more balls. Rather than sideways passing. It does not just take time to wear down the opposition. Our strength lies in putting our foot on the accelerator.”

That is what France will have to do on Friday night without letting the special occasion get to them. Haste and passion can be counter-productive and while Deschamps did not want to make this sound like too special an occasion, he did admit that this balance would be the decisive one for his team.

“Each player experiences these games differently,” he said. “What matters is not to focus too soon, not to play the game before it begins. We need to have butterflies in the stomach, we need to get into that mindset, without pressure, without feeling fragile.”

Deschamps said he would not reveal what he would say in his pre-game team-talk, but he gave some indication. “We have been preparing for this for two years,” he said. “We must start with emotion, desire, generosity, but while keeping clear minds. It is not any old match, not by any stretch. But the less influence from this perspective, the better.”