SM
Chelsea vs. Spurs: 8 hrs 27 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews
Collect News Data
PN
European Championship | Group Stage
Jun 23, 2021 at 8pm UK
Puskás Aréna
FN

Portugal
2 - 2
France

Ronaldo (31' pen., 60' pen.)
FT(HT: 1-1)
Benzema (45+2' pen., 47')
Lloris (27'), Hernandez (36'), Griezmann (40'), Kimpembe (83')

Didier Deschamps insists there is more to come from France

:Headline: Didier Deschamps insists there is more to come from France:
Braces from Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo saw the sides finish 2-2 in their final group game.
Sports Mole

France manager Didier Deschamps warned their Euro 2020 rivals there is plenty more to come from the world champions ahead of the knockout stage.

A 2-2 draw with Portugal ensured Les Bleus finished top of Group F with five points and set up a meeting in the round of 16 with Switzerland on Monday.

Karim Benzema's double cancelled out a brace of Cristiano Ronaldo penalties but France were far from their best with Kylian Mbappe still to get off the mark and Everton defender Lucas Digne set to join Ousmane Dembele in being ruled out of the rest of the tournament due to injury.

Deschamps said: "In terms of points, we are first. Maybe other teams gave a better impression than the French team but now it is a new competition that starts.

"The first match against Germany was really important for us and to win this one point against Hungary allowed us even before this match to be qualified but as I said to the players we don't want to do any calculations because we don't want to take any risks.

"We have seen everything could change very quickly in this group. Of course we didn't do everything well all the time and we can improve some things."

A positive for France was Benzema scoring his first international goals since 2015 after the Real Madrid forward received a surprise recall before the European Championships got under way and he was happy to silence the doubters.

He added: "I knew as soon as I would be in the national team, the critics would come out – that is part of the football game but I never give up.

"As soon as I put my feet on the pitch I want to score and today I managed to do that. But I am training a lot. It was always like that, even when I was a little kid.

"Today everyone was waiting for this goal and that was some kind of extra motivation for me. Of course there is another pressure than when you play for your club because it is your whole country but for me it is a great pleasure."

Portugal occupied every position in the group during their 2-2 draw with France on a dramatic night but eventually finished as one of the best third-placed teams and take on Belgium – the number one ranked side in the world – next in Sevilla on Sunday.

The round of 16 clash will give Ronaldo the chance to become the record goalscorer at international level after he equalled Iran's Ali Daei's tally of 109 with a brace against France.

Boss Fernando Santos struggled to hide his frustration at a quick turnaround, especially with Belgium concluding their group on Monday.

"Resting is very important. We will have to mitigate this 48-hour difference," he said.

"We want to recuperate the players and have them fresh for the next match. I thought for what they played today, they have managed to recharge their mental batteries and right now we have to eliminate the fatigue.

"We are going to face very high temperatures but this is not a handicap for us. We are going to study our opponent. We already know them but we will see what changed and we will prepare this match with our idea to progress."

body check tags ::

amp_article__452519 : Collect and Make Data not in DataBase  : 
last updated article - 2021-06-23 22:59:46:
html db last update - 2021-06-23 22:46:23 :

ex - 7200 : read : write cache and make html
Read more!

Click here for more stories about Didier Deschamps

Click here for more stories about France

Share this article now:


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!
Recommended Next on SM
Cristiano Ronaldo equals international goalscoring record in France draw
Liverpool drop major Salah, Van Dijk transfer hints in new kit launch
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Arsenal35255585285780
2Manchester CityMan City34247382325079
3Liverpool35229477364175
4Aston Villa35207873522167
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs33186967521560
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd34166125251154
7Newcastle UnitedNewcastle341651374551953
8West Ham UnitedWest Ham351310125665-949
9Chelsea33139116359448
10Bournemouth35139135260-848
11Wolverhampton WanderersWolves35137154855-746
12Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton341111125257-544
13Fulham35127165155-443
14Crystal Palace351010154557-1240
15Everton35128153748-1136
16Brentford3598185260-835
17Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest3579194262-2026
18Luton TownLuton3567224877-2925
19Burnley3559213870-3224
RSheffield UnitedSheff Utd3537253497-6316
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

history www

Preview: Chelsea vs. Spurs - prediction, team news, lineups

NEW

1

PC

Preview: Roma vs. B. Leverkusen - prediction, team news, lineups

NEW

2

PR

Ryan Garcia, Devin Haney react to Garcia failed drug test reports

NEW

3

RG

South American giants 'make official offer for Chelsea defender'

NEW

4

SA

Thursday's Europa League predictions including Roma vs. Bayer Leverkusen

5

TE

Preview: Dortmund vs. PSG - prediction, team news, lineups

6

PD

Preview: Inter Miami vs. NY Red Bulls - prediction, team news, lineups

7

PI

Liverpool midfielder ruled out for rest of season due to injury

8

LM

Luton Town midfielder 'attracting interest from Watford, QPR'

9

LT

Man Utd 'make decision on Greenwood, Sancho futures'

10

MU


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .