A nation expects but can France deliver?

NOBODY really knows if France can handle the pressure of leading from the front. Of hitting ‘their’ tournament at speed and with the accuracy needed to excel.

Les Bleus’ mission is to justify the increasingly soaring expectations of 66 million citizens.

No less a judge than Arsene Wenger has expressed concern over how Didier Deschamps’ men will cope, citing Brazil’s semi-final capitulation in the World Cup and even the collapse of England’s rugby XV as prime examples of how a host nation can fail to justify the demands of their supporters. It is very much a live issue in Paris. Thousands of fans have been turning up to open training sessions. Many thousands more who watched both Cameroon and Scotland beaten in warm-up matches feel that, quality of opposition notwithstanding, their team are poised to win a third European Championship title.

Even the French president, Francois Hollande, visited the squad over the weekend and told them: ‘You have our full confidence, you are great champions. You are France, all of France. If the pressure is strong, remember that you are more than just this team.’

Deschamps, pointing out that France were knocked out in the quarter-finals of the World Cup by eventual winners Germany — a nation likely to be lying in wait somewhere in the knockout stages — bristles at even the suggestion of a group pitting his team against Romania, Albania and Switzerland being somehow ‘easy’.

And despite being pleased to be talking about anything other than the non-selection of Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema, sex tapes or allegations of racism, Deschamps has clearly been desperate to play down expectations.

‘I’m not going to sit here and declare that we want to win the Euros,’ was the typical Deschamps message. ‘I am convinced that we must have that ambition. But it shouldn’t be taken as given.

‘The French team is competitive but, if you are talking about playing the best, we’ll see when the time comes.

‘What is an easy draw? An easy draw is when you have won the matches. Only then can you say it was easy. I suppose you’re going to tell me that we could have got more renowned opponents.

‘Well, Romania aren’t flashy. Is that it? But they didn’t qualify by accident. Neither did Albania or Switzerland.’

The players invited to speak to the media have occasionally wandered off message, embracing the support being given to them and even declaring themselves favourites. All have insisted they will enjoy the pressure. We’ll see.

Of course, a certain other group of Frenchmen — including then skipper Deschamps — once provided an ideal example of how to shoulder such a burden, casually shrugging it aside to win a major trophy on home soil in 1998.

But anyone who was in France for even part of that World Cup will surely attest to the fact that the official history of the national team’s rise and rise to the pinnacle of football has tended to be a little revisionist on the subject of public belief in Aime Jacquet’s squad.

Oh sure, the French definitely wanted their boys to do well. Chatting to locals about their team’s chances, the most common response tended to be: ‘J’espere.’ I hope.

But favourites? If weight of money meant the hosts were always quoted near the top of the betting, they weren’t the first picks that they are this summer.

They hadn’t even been to a World Cup since Mexico ’86, remember. Although they had made it to Euro 96 and finished top of their group, the fact that they couldn’t score a goal in the knockout stages — they beat Holland on penalties after a 0-0 and lost to the Czechs on spotkicks after another 0-0 — rather hinted at their main problem.

The basic hitch? They didn’t have an out-and-out striker. Thierry Henry and David Trezeguet were emerging talents at Monaco, but untested on the international stage. Youri Djorkaeff was always more of a No10, which meant that Stephane Guivarc’h — the Catastrophe Apostrophe himself — was as close as they got to a bonafide front man.

Throw in the traditional infighting and you could understand why most observers picked out Brazil — with the original Ronaldo at his peak until his seizure on the day of the final — or even the imperious Dennis Bergkamp’s Holland as more likely winners.

It was only when France started playing, when they started winning, that excitement levels in the country really ramped up. Even allowing for Zinedine Zidane’s onematch suspension in the group stages, there was a general air of optimism. One generated by the team’s performances.

The concern among many French football folk this summer is that, with so much anticipation already in the atmosphere before a ball has been kicked, anything less than a comprehensive cuffing of Romania tomorrow night — followed by equally convincing wins over Albania and Switzerland — will risk all of that expectation being turned into frustration.

Arsenal boss Wenger, rather bizarrely appointed as an ‘expert voice’ for tournament sponsors Coca-Cola, certainly sees danger in France’s status as favourites.

‘With this generation, with players like Paul Pogba and Antoine Griezmann, they have great potential,’ he said. ‘But a lot of it also depends on how they deal with pressure.

‘Brazil cracked during their own World Cup. England went wayward in their own Rugby World Cup. France were favourites but did not win their Euros in basketball.

‘Sport has become so vital in our society that the players seem to have more and more pressure on their shoulders all the time.

‘That is multiplied when you are playing in a competition at home.’

There is a feeling that all of France, a nation entitled to be still mourning the horrors of terrorism visited upon Paris in November, not only need this tournament to go well and without incident, but for their team to perform with distinction.

As everyone from Monsieur President to the least interested member of the public would put it, France expects. But will France deliver?