UEFA Euro 2016 is well and truly underway, and we’re beginning to see what all the teams are made of. The hosts, France, started out with a nervy 2-1 win over Romania, and they know that they’ll have to step it up if they’re to live up to the hype built around them.
The French are looking to continue their impressive record in tournaments on home soil, and they have some real motivation that they will hope to use to bag yet another major international crown. Let us explore why this particular tournament means so much:
The Paris terror attacks
Paris is a beautiful city which epitomises love and tranquillity. Not so on 13 November 2015, when a series of co-ordinated terror attacks brought the French capital to its knees, where terrorists killed 130 people and injured a further 368. It was one of the worst terror attacks the world had ever seen.
Seven months on, Paris is still healing from the tragedy, and Euro 2016 has been a real blessing in bringing the people of France together as they attempt to cope with the aftermath. This is probably the single most important reason for France to have a great showing. Football is the most popular game in France, and Les Bleus winning the tournament would go a long way in bringing some real joy to the lives of every French citizen.
Their history on home soil
Euro 1984, the 1998 World Cup, and Euro 2016. What do these three tournaments have in common? They were all hosted by France. What do the first two have in common? They were both won by France. Les Blues will be looking to make it a hat-trick on home soil by going all the way this year as well.
In fact, the only times France haven’t won a major tournament they hosted was the 1938 World Cup, and Euro 1960 (where only four teams participated). In the modern era, there is no other team quite like the French when it comes to feeding off the energy and enthusiasm of being the home-town heroes.
Simply put, the French are masters of winning titles at home, and they’ll want to keep the streak going at Euro 2016.
To erase the memories of the last ten years
The last time the French national football team was really world class was when Zidane head-butted Marco Materazzi in that World Cup final in 2006. What followed was one of the darkest periods in France’s rich footballing history.
With Zidane retiring, they lost one of the greatest players to grace the football field and descended into chaos. Raymond Domenech led them to rock bottom, as they finished bottom of their group at both Euro 2008, and the 2010 World Cup. The in-fighting and disharmony was just the icing on a terrible cake.
While things did improve in the following two tournaments – Euro 2012 and the 2014 World Cup – after Domenech’s dismissal, France failed to hit the heights of the 1998 World Cup, and Euro 2000. This is the perfect opportunity to exorcise the demons which have been haunting them for ten long years.
This is the best team they’ve had for years
Paul Pogba was named the Best Young Player at the 2016 World Cup. He could very well end up as the Best Player at Euro 2016. The meteoric rise of Pogba, since his move to Juventus, hasn’t been a one-off story either.
Antoine Griezmann has turned into one of the most lethal forward in the game at Atletico Madrid, while Dimitri Payet has already proven his ability to transfer his club form to the national team, against Romania. N’Golo Kante is coming off a miracle Premier League triumph with Leicester City, and captain Hugo Lloris is one of the most reliable keepers in world football today.
Even missing some big names such as Raphael Varane, this is the best the French team has looked for a long long time.
Shifting the focus back to football
Karim Benzema, and Mathieu Valbuena have been involved in an off-field sex scandal which has threatened to tear away the focus from the best chance France have at returning to the pinnacle of the international game.
Didier Deschamps has probably made the right decision by leaving out both players, as involving them would put team morale and mentality into real jeopardy. Unfortunately, this has only mitigated the damage, as players like Olivier Giroud have found themselves in the crosshairs of angry fans.
Despite decent performances in a Les Blues shirt, the Arsenal striker has been roundly booed and unfairly criticised. But, the bright spot is that his goal in the opening game is the first step to getting away from the scandal and the controversy. Completing the hat-trick of international titles on home soil would ensure that everyone is talking about the only thing that should matter – Football.
