Football
ESPN staff 8y

Alan Pardew: Antoine Griezmann aside, England are as good as France

Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew believes that, bar the talent of Antoine Griezmann, Euro 2016 finalists France are not any better than England.

England were knocked out 2-1 in the round-of-16 by Iceland, a side that France went on to beat 5-2 in the quarterfinal before knocking out world champions Germany 2-0 in the semifinal to set up a meeting with Portugal in Paris on Sunday.

The loss to Iceland led to Roy Hodgson resigning from his role as England manager and questions about the direction of the side going forward, but Pardew insists it is not all bad news and says a lot can be learnt from Les Bleus.

He wrote in the Daily Mail: "I still think four or five England players could get in their side. And that is why the players who lost to Iceland will be feeling a huge sense of loss as the final of this competition is played out on Sunday. A missed opportunity."

He added: "This French team is dynamic with lots of Premier League-style quality, but with the exception of Antoine Griezmann, who is the stand-out player for them, they aren't better than England.

"They are the strongest and most balanced team and there is something we can learn from. They have a strong sense of togetherness and technical quality and, of course, they are still in the competition."

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