SM
Newcastle vs. West Ham: 2 hrs 10 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews

France

Laurent Blanc: France defence must get better

:Headline: Laurent Blanc: France defence must get better: ID:29949: from db_amp
France coach Laurent Blanc says that his back four must play a lot better before their Euro 2012 opener against England on Monday.

France coach Laurent Blanc has said that his defence must improve if they are to do well at the upcoming European Championships.

The French extended their impressive unbeaten streak to 21 games with a comprehensive 4-0 success over Estonia in Le Mans last night.

They now travel to Ukraine, where they take on England in their tournament opener on Monday in Donetsk, and Blanc has said that his rear guard isn't performing at the moment.

"I'm not going to beat around the bush. Our defence was not good enough," Blanc told reporters after the Estonia win.

"It was an easy game, very easy... I said to them, 'This is not your day - the team is dominating out there and yet we're getting ourselves in trouble'.

"You have to understand that it wasn't the opposition that was causing us problems. We have to have a long hard think about what happened out there.

Blanc pinpointed his first-choice back four of Mathieu Debuchy, Adil Rami, Philippe Mexes and Patrice Evra as the players that must be on top form in Poland and Ukraine.

He added: "They need to improve, and I'm talking about all four defenders."

The other two sides in Group D, Sweden and Ukraine, were also in friendly action yesterday, with Sweden defeating Serbia 2-1 while Ukraine went down 2-0 against Turkey.

amp_article__29949 : Database Data restored...  : 
last updated article - 2012-06-06 18:39:07:
html db last update - 2012-06-06 18:39:07 :

ex - 7200 : read : read cache amp html

Click here for more stories about Laurent Blanc

Click here for more stories about France

Share this article now:
Recommended Next on SM
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool1210112481631
2Manchester CityMan City127232217523
3Chelsea126422314922
4Arsenal126422112922
5Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton126422116522
6Tottenham HotspurSpurs1261527131419
7Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest125431513219
8Aston Villa125431919019
9Newcastle UnitedNewcastle115331311218
10Fulham125341717018
11Brentford125252222017
12Manchester UnitedMan Utd124441313016
13Bournemouth124351617-115
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham113351319-612
15Everton122551017-711
16Leicester CityLeicester122461523-810
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves122372028-89
18Ipswich TownIpswich121651323-109
19Crystal Palace121561017-78
20Southampton121110924-154
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.



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