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Tottenham’s Lloris Confident France Can Handle Pressure

By Alexander Balano

LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 17: Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris of Tottenham Hotspur (R) warms up prior to the UEFA Europa League round of 16, second leg match between Tottenham Hotspur and Borussia Dortmund at White Hart Lane on March 17, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 17: Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris of Tottenham Hotspur (R) warms up prior to the UEFA Europa League round of 16, second leg match between Tottenham Hotspur and Borussia Dortmund at White Hart Lane on March 17, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images) /
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Hugo Lloris, Tottenham Hotspur’s number one goalkeeper and captain, knows that France has pressure to perform well in the European Championship as the host nation. But the 29-year-old is confident Les Bleus can deal with said pressure ahead of their opener tomorrow.

This has been a long time coming for Hugo Lloris, six years in the making to be exact. Back in 2010, France was awarded as the host nation to stage the 2016 edition of the Euros. It was also the first year that Lloris would wear the captain’s armband for France. Since 2012, Hugo Lloris has been the number one ‘keeper for Les Bleus while winning 75 caps in his international career

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With tomorrow being the opening day of the European Champion, where France will take on Romania, Lloris sat down with Spurs TV before he left for the summer to chat about his thoughts on a tournament that he has been waiting for since it was first announced.

"“It’s always special when you play for your national team and there is now more responsibility because the tournament is in France, so there is more expectation around us,” Hugo Lloris said (via Tottenham’s official site).“It’s all about mentality, spirit and if you can mix that with the talent in the squad we can do great things.”“We have to do it step by step, first be focused on the group stage and take it game by game.”"

PARIS, FRANCE – JUNE 09: Hugo Lloris of France in action during training session ahead of the UEFA EURO 2016 Group A match between France and Romania at Stade de France on June 9, 2016 in Paris, France. France and Romania will contest the opening match of the tournament on June 10. (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)
PARIS, FRANCE – JUNE 09: Hugo Lloris of France in action during training session ahead of the UEFA EURO 2016 Group A match between France and Romania at Stade de France on June 9, 2016 in Paris, France. France and Romania will contest the opening match of the tournament on June 10. (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images) /

Taking things one game at a time is the best possible way to go about it as a host nation who is hosting their first major tournament on home soil since the 1998 World Cup which France would win.

So no pressure on this current France squad to win Euro 2016.

When people think of a tournament being held in some country’s backyard, they’re expected to do good. Make it out of the group stage, and go on a run into the quarter-finals or something. Winning the entire thing would be great for sure, but the expectations are raised as the host nation.

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Look at what happened to Brazil during the 2014 World Cup. They made it all the way to semi-finals and were routed 7-1 by the eventual champions, Germany. That’s not to say it will happen to France this summer in the Euros, but that kind of thing is on the back of people’s minds.

For Lloris, he hopes nothing of the sort that Brazil suffered two years ago happens which is why the Tottenham goalkeeper is confident when he leads the team onto the pitch tomorrow night.

"“It maybe did not help Brazil at the World Cup in 2014 but for us the public are going to be a great support.” Lloris said (via London Evening Standard)."

With a group consisting of Albania, Romania and Switzerland, France is already being pegged as a favorite to make it out of the group stage and make it into the knockout rounds.

The pressure has already begun before the tournament officially started.

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If Les Bleus stumbles out of the gate — not impossible but definitely not out of the question — then they could go down the route that the United States Men’s National Team suffered in the opening game of the Copa América Centenario.

Beating Colombia was a tough ask for USA, but looking bad and lifeless wasn’t what anyone expected. This is something France can’t let happen at all with the world watching.

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