PARIS // Veteran Romania coach Anghel Iordanescu is optimistic his side can expose France’s defensive woes to surprise the hosts in today’s Euro 2016 opening match.
Injuries to Real Madrid’s Raphael Varane and Barcelona’s Jeremy Mathieu have depleted a French backline already shorn of Mamadou Sakho due to a provisional Uefa ban for doping.
However, Iordanescu is wary of the array of quality attacking talent available to French coach Didier Deschamps.
“France are a very attacking unit,” said Iordanescu, who is in his third spell as Romania coach, yesterday. “I think France have some terrifically talented players, all with top sides in the Champions League and it is a side worth hundreds of millions of euros.
“That said, France do have some shortcomings at the back.”
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Deschamps’s men are one of the favourites to repeat the feats of the 1984 Euros and 1998 World Cup French teams by winning the tournament on home soil.
And Iordanescu expects a fast start from the hosts once the action gets underway after a long build-up dominated by terrorism worries and the sex-tape blackmail scandal that saw Real Madrid star Karim Benzema left out the French squad.
“I believe France have lost only one of their last 10 matches,” Iordanescu said. “Given the ability of their players I think France are one of the favourites for this tournament.
“I expect France to begin the match in an aggressive fashion. I’m sure my players are ready and determined to overcome these spells of pressure and domination from the opposition we are likely to face.”
The opening game of the month-long tournament, extended to 24-teams for the first time, will be played at the Stade de France in Paris.
The stadium was one of several targets in the terrorist attacks which killed 130 people in the French capital November 13 last year.
A massive security operation has been launched with up to 90,000 police and private guards set to protect the teams, media and hundreds of thousands of fans set to travel to France to attend matches.
Germany defender Jerome Boateng said on Wednesday that his family would not be attending the tournament due to security concerns.
However, Romanian captain Vlad Chiriches said he was satisfied the security measures in place would guarantee a peaceful tournament.
“I think the authorities have taken the right security measures,” said the Napoli defender. “We feel safe and we hope these security measures work throughout the tournament.”
Gareth Bale insists Wales are no one-man team
Gareth Bale has insisted Wales are not a one-man band at Euro 2016.
Real Madrid striker Bale scored seven of Wales’ 11 goals in qualifying for France, as well as claiming two assists, as the nation ended a 58-year wait for a major tournament.
But the world’s most expensive player shunned the one-man team label as he addressed the media ahead of Wales’ tournament opener against Slovakia on Saturday.
“It’s never a one-man team, for us it’s a squad thing,” he said. “We’re together stronger and it’s there for a reason – we don’t just say it for no reason.
“We all work hard as one unit, we attack as one and we defend as one. When we lose the ball we all fight back to get it.
“People can write what they want, but we all know that we work very hard on the training pitch every day.”
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Bale carries the hopes of a nation on his shoulders, but he says he is unconcerned by the weight of expectation.
Neither is he bothered by the possibility that he could be a marked man at the tournament, and Bale, 26, has no interest in calling for greater protection from referees.
“I just want to go out and play football, to enjoy myself on the football pitch,” said Bale. “We all get on so well, we are like brothers.
“We are all friends and we joke around and play together.
“But when it comes down to serious business we fight for each other.
“We have fun at the same time. We want to enjoy it and when you enjoy your football you play your best.
“Obviously you’d like to think you’ll get protection but all referees are different. You hope that they referee the game fairly, that’s all you can ask for really.”
England goalkeeper joe Hart keen to forget past failures
Goalkeeper Joe Hart is keen to forget England’s failures at previous major tournaments and put his trust in the new young squad at the European Championship in France this month.
A fine qualifying campaign and warm-up victories over Turkey, Australia and Portugal have raised hopes that Roy Hodgson’s charges might win a first major trophy since England’s World Cup triumph 50 years ago.
Hart has played in three big tournaments for England so far but has never progressed beyond the quarter-finals.
“I’ve gone into every tournament confident and felt like we’ve been ready. So for me to say it’s different this time would be wrong,” Hart told reporters on Thursday.
“But they’ve gone, they are the past, this is a new one, a new set of players – the majority – and we’re fresh and ready and we’re going to give it all we’ve got.”
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Hart said England had no excuse if they failed to live up to expectations at Euro 2016 as they have been given all the necessary resources to excel in France.
“We’ve certainly got all the backing we need. Everything that needs to be put in place has been put in place. It’s now down to us to perform on the pitch,” the 29-year-old Manchester City goalkeeper said.
“It’s exciting, fresh, there are a lot of youngsters so they are going to be more comfortable than maybe other teams. There’s a good bond right the way through.”
England kick off their campaign in Group B against Russia on Saturday before facing Wales and Slovakia.
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