Football
ESPN staff 8y

France aiming to avoid upset against Republic of Ireland - Hugo Lloris

Hugo Lloris is more concerned with avoiding an upset in the Euro 2016 round of 16 than any talk of revenge from France's last meeting with Republic of Ireland.

Almost seven years after Thierry Henry's handball at the Stade de France denied Ireland a place in the 2010 World Cup the sides meet again in the European Championship.

But Lloris, who played in that game, insists the minds of the French squad are focused purely on the task in hand and rejected the notion that Ireland will be looking for payback.

He said: "I don't know if the Irish are necessarily out for revenge. That's part of history, that's in the past.

"Tomorrow's fixture is part of the European Championship at home and we have noticed since the start of the tournament, we are a little bit the team to beat. That does give the opposition added motivation to try and bring down the host nation.

"That is no doubt going to be another aim for the Irish, but we're not focused on that at all, we're preparing very calmly on our side of things and tomorrow we need to make sure that we are ready for the battle.

"If I'm honest, I don't think we are over-confident at all. We have a lot of respect for Republic of Ireland. We have been able to watch them on video. Despite the second half against Belgium, they have shown a lot of good stuff against Sweden and especially against Italy.

"They are perhaps even a little bit more excited because they went through in the last few minutes against Italy. They are where they are. I think they are very motivated, but we will also be up for it too."

Lloris will captain France for a record 55th time during the game, in the process overtaking the total managed by his manager Didier Deschamps, a landmark he is proud of but one that comes secondary to reaching the quarterfinal of the tournament.

Lloris said: "Of course it's nice, but to be honest at this moment in time, I'm more focused on competition as a whole and what matters for me and my teammates is to try to go as far as possible in the European Championship.

"I have no desire at all to compare myself to Didier Deschamps, what he might have represented as a player or captain, nor indeed Michel Platini. Football evolves, as do people's mentalities."

When asked about the feat, Deschamps joked: "Maybe. He could play, but he might not be captain. I ultimately am the one in charge."

But any celebrations will have to wait with Deschamps warning his players they will have a major battle on their hands against Martin O'Neill's side.

He said: "They've got a lot of heart, they work hard, but it's not just that. There are some good footballers within the team.

"The large majority of them play in the Premier League, they are used to playing against the top English sides.

"There are lots of good footballers like [Glenn] Whelan, [Jeff] Hendrick, [Wes] Hoolahan if he plays, [Robbie] Brady, [James] McCarthy, Shane Long -- these are all players that play consistently at Premier League level, so they know what top-level football is all about."

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