Lloris calls on France to reach for the stars
LEVEL UP: Lloris’s team will be tested by Messi HUGO LLORIS knows France will have to play beyond their limits to rise to the challenge of beating Lionel Messi’s Argentina today and reach the quarter-finals.
Argentina scraped through to the knockout stage following a dramatic victory over Nigeria in their last group match, finishing as runners-up to Croatia, while Les Bleus came top of Group C after two wins and a draw.
But Tottenham goalkeeper Lloris accepts France will now have to raise their performance in their last-16 clash in Kazan.
“This is going to be a difficult one. We are going to have to step up our level,” said the France captain. “We should go beyond our limits, have to be full of energy, bet on our collective solidity and use it all.
“We should make all of the effort possible and leave the pitch without regretting anything.”
Lloris feels France have a potential match-winner in Paris Saint-Germain’s 19-year-old forward Kylian Mbappe.
“Kylian has huge qualities and huge potential. He is fast, explosive and needs space. He will have that tomorrow, more than in the first three matches,” said Lloris. “He has the ability to make a difference in the great moments.”
That danger is one recognised by Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli, who said: “What is most worrisome about France beyond their youth is the skill of some of their players. They have some outstanding players who can be decisive, especially in their front positions.
“But we have complete faith in our abilities. We are very strong psychologically and this will allow us to face the match with complete commitment.”
France manager Didier Deschamps, part of the national team that won the 1998 World Cup, gave little away on his plans to try to shackle the threat of Argentina’s talisman. “Messi is Messi,” he said. “We would like to mark and neutralise him, but we know very well he can make the difference with very little. This is why he is different to others, because he is so unpredictable.
“There are several solutions to limit his impact, but also the rest of the Argentina team are very experienced – it is not built on Messi.”
Sampaoli merely shrugged in response and said: “I am sure France have their own plan to neutralise Leo, but we have our own plan to make his life easier, so let’s see who has the best luck executing their plan.”
Sampaoli has found himself under the spotlight following the opening 1-1 draw against Iceland and a 3-0 defeat by Croatia in Nizhny Novgorod. But he insists the squad is united, saying: “Regardless of what happens, we need to keep fighting.” IT IS impossible to start anywhere but here. Universally the best moment of the tournament so far. Adnan Januzaj has scored his great goal against England and Chelsea misfit Michy Batshuayi is delighted.
Grabbing the ball from the back of the net, he belts it high into the stands – at least he would have done if the post had not got in the way and deflected it straight back into his face. There have been some belters, but the devil is in the detail. In that regard, Lionel Messi’s three-touch goal against Nigeria shows just how simple the game is if you are an amazingly gifted genius. Of course it is Harry Kane, but seeing as he is going to be the player of the tournament as a whole, let us cast the net a bit further at this stage.
It may be unfashionable, but in a tournament in which VAR has put defenders under more pressure than ever, Diego Godin has been a colossus in Uruguay’s largely unheralded progress to the knockout stages. Love him or more probably loathe him, you have to admire the sense of drama Cristiano Ronaldo adds to any occasion.
Easily the most engaging match of the tournament was the 3-3 draw between Spain and Portugal, and after the way in which Ronaldo snatched a point with that free-kick in the 88th minute, somebody should build a statue to him. Just not the guy responsible for that bust at Madeira Airport. Colombia’s travelling army have been painting various corners of Russia yellow throughout the competition and now they are descending on Moscow. England will undoubtedly have them to battle against on Tuesday on top of everything else. Diego Maradona has to take this in every sense of the word. Argentina’s greatest legend once carried a whole nation to World Cup glory. These days there is some doubt whether they could do it the other way around. Again Maradona, right, would have taken this for his poor behaviour in celebrating Marcos Rojo’s late goal against Nigeria. But he had already been beaten to title of worst abuse of status by “Angels” singer Robbie Williams deciding to make the World Cup opening ceremony all about him. Worst Use, Most Frustrating, Most Confusing, Most Why on Earth? This could have an awards night of its own. It is a far-from-perfect science but the best use has been knocking Germany out early by reinstating a South Korea goal against them that had been ruled out for offside. This was a hotly-contested category from the moment Sergei Ignashevich cleared two Uruguay strikers out of the way of a free-kick just so Luis Suarez could fire the ball where they should have been and into the back of the net.
But those Panamanian clinches against England deserve some sort of award – possibly in ballroom dancing. England could have claimed