France’s start to their Euro 2020 campaign hasn’t been particularly smooth sailing. After one win in the opener and two consecutive draws, they qualified for the round of 16 only to meet with more bad news, involving injuries. However, skipper Hugo Lloris said his team will derive motivation from the threat of elimination when they take on Switzerland on Monday. (Full Euro 2020 coverage)
World Champions France, coming into the fixture on the back of a thrilling 2-2 win against Portugal in their third group encounter, had a few players pick up injuries, posing a few problems for coach Didier Deschamps.
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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.
While speaking at a press conference before the match, Lloris said Les Bleus are used to such situations and that they thrive under pressure.
“We can use this as motivation,” Lloris said of the threat of elimination. “We are already a team of competitors. We don’t like to lose and when we know we can be going home, we are even stronger.”
Lloris added that it was essential for France to remain focused against Switzerland.
“We are approaching this like a completely different competition,” the goalkeeper said. “We know we can’t make any mistakes.
“We know the mental aspect (of the game) will play a role. This is certainly the key to our success.”
With Hernandez and Digne both going off injured in their final group game against Portugal, Deschamps said a three-man defence he deployed in the UEFA Nations League last year was also an option but he kept his cards close to his chest.
“This is an option, of course, which may or may not be taken,” he said. “But if I did it … I am not going to tell you now.”
(With inputs from Reuters)