Can Stuttering Hosts France Still Go All the Way at Euro 2016?

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: July 3, 2016

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The French might have invited the rest of the continent to Euro 2016, but so far they haven’t been the most accommodating or entertaining hosts.

Of course, they are unbeaten, and in to the quarter-finals, where they will Sunday night face Iceland at the Stade de France in Paris for a place in the last four.

But it has all been a bit of a struggle; France have not glided through this tournament with sumptuous displays of attacking football, but rather they have had to huff and puff, and narrowly secure their wins.

They had an attack of first-night nerves in their opening game against Romania and needed a goal from Dimitri Payet to rescue them in the last minute.

In their second game against Albania the French could not muster a goal until the death, when Payet and Antoine Griezmann scored in added time, and then against Switzerland they played out a rather uninspiring goalless draw.



In the round of 16, Ireland could sense France were vulnerable, and went ahead in the first minute, but they couldn’t hold out and were eventually worn down, with two goals in the second half from Griezmann.

Can France continue to stumble through Euro 2016 in this fashion all the way to the final?

So far the draw has been kind to them, and put the modest knockout obstacles of Ireland and Iceland in their way, but should they triumph tonight, Germany await them in the semi-finals.

The France manager Didier Deschamps has to find a way to energise his team from the very first minute, for the hosts remain the only team not to score in the first half at Euro 2016.

So far they have been too sluggish and timid at the start of games, unable, or unwilling to trust their attacking players, and take the game to the opposition.

"We react instead of taking the initiative," the veteran French defender Patrice Evra has said, as reported by the Associated P...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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