Group F
Euro 2020: Knockout games bring the best out of France – Hugo Lloris
A depleted France will draw motivation from the threat of elimination as they prepare to face Switzerland in their European Championship last-16 match, captain Hugo Lloris said on Sunday. World champions France topped Group F with one win and two draws ahead of Portugal and Germany but key players in their backline have picked up injuries to give coach Didier Deschamps a selection headache on Monday. While Ousmane Dembele and Marcus Thuram are unavailable, Deschamps confirmed full backs Jules Kounde and Lucas Digne are also ruled out against the Swiss. Left back Lucas Hernandez, who injured his knee, has a chance to feature. Speaking at a news conference, goalkeeper Lloris said France – who finished runners-up in 2016 – were accustomed to do-or-die situations and thrived under pressure. “W...
Euro 2020: France avoid major upset in draw vs Hungary
France were forced to wait to secure qualification for the knockout stages of the Euros after they were held by a resilient Hungary to a 1-1 draw in front of a capacity crowd at the Puskas Arena in Budapest. Meeting in scorching sunshine in front of more than 60,000 fans, Hungary stunned the world champions by taking a shock lead through Attila Fiola when he burst clear to finish calmly beyond Hugo Lloris in first-half injury time. France were rocked heading into the break but equalize through Antoine Griezmann in the 66th minute following some route-one football from goalkeeper Lloris and clever hold-up play by Kylian Mbappe. France pressed strongly in the closing stages but failed to get the breakthrough as a raucous crowd in Budapest celebrated as if their team had won. The result puts ...
Euro 2020: Germany still need some work ahead of France opener – coach
Germany still need to work on parts of their game before the start of the European Championship, coach Joachim Loew said on Sunday at the end of their nine-day training camp in Austria. The Germans, starting their tournament against world champions France on June 15, play their last warm-up match against Latvia on Monday. The Euros open on Friday. “I cannot fully draw conclusions from our camp just yet because our preparation continues and after the game tomorrow we have a week in Duesseldorf to prepare for France,” Loew, going into his final tournament as Germany coach, told a news conference. Loew has been in charge since 2006 and will be succeeded by his former assistant and former Bayern Munich coach Hansi Flick after the tournament. The Germans also play European champions Portugal as...
