<
>

France coach says Alexandre Lacazette responded well to jeers

France coach Didier Deschamps has praised Alexandre Lacazette after he responded to jeers from sections of the crowd by scoring his first international goal in the 2-0 win over Denmark on Sunday.

The Lyon striker, winning his sixth cap, was met with whistles from some fans in St Etienne -- home of Lyon's fiercest rivals.

But he provided the perfect response with a 14th-minute opener, his 28th goal of the season.

"Overall, we had a nice atmosphere when we arrived, and then also in the stadium," Deschamps said at his postmatch press conference.

"We cannot prevent a minority from focusing on players who wear a jersey of a club which is not very far away. I would have preferred that that had not been the case.

"Alex responded well on the field. As I said before the game, it would have been better if all the players had been supported in the same way.

"But the vast majority of the public responded very well. After Alex scored, it was fine."

Arsenal's Olivier Giroud doubled France's lead before half-time to get Deschamps' men, who are guaranteed a place at Euro 2016 as tournament hosts, back to winning ways after Thursday's 3-1 friendly defeat to Brazil in Paris.

"We came up against a very good team in Brazil, who were superior to us," he added.

"When the opponent is superior, they are to be commended. We had some deficiencies, but also they were very good."