France’s goalkeeper Hugo Lloris speaks to his teammates during the UEFA EURO 2020 Group F football match between France and Germany at the Allianz Arena in Munich on June 15, 2021. (Photo by Matthias Hangst / POOL / AFP)
France captain Hugo Lloris said on Friday that he and his teammates should guard against complacency when they take on Hungary after having begun Euro 2020 in impressive fashion.
Didier Deschamps’ side looked every inch the tournament favourites in beating Germany in Munich in their first Group F match, but Tottenham goalkeeper Lloris says Les Bleus need to prepare themselves for a different challenge on Saturday (1300 GMT) in front of a big crowd at the Puskas Arena in Budapest.
“We can’t admire ourselves in the mirror too much, it was only the first match and the road is still very, very long,” Lloris told reporters.
“We have a number of challenges facing us… but it is important to have begun the tournament with such a great collective performance… We should build on that.
“It’s important in sport to be confident. That confidence is based on what you’ve done before, but you can’t be overconfident we respect our opponents and we respect the competition.”
France can secure a spot in the round of 16 with a win over Hungary, who are expecting a crowd approaching 60,000 in the Hungarian capital.
“The support of a full stadium is an advantage for the Hungarians, it helped them a lot in the first match,” said Deschamps.
Hungary lost 3-0 in against Portugal in their opener but held out until the 84th minute and put on a committed showing in front of a passionate crowd.
“They’re a very combative, hard-working and very well organised team. The presence of an Italian coach (Marco Rossi) has a lot to do with that,” added Deschamps.
“They’re at home, I expect the same kind of performance that they gave against the Portuguese.”