France captain Hugo Lloris has highlighted the importance of getting their World Cup campaign off to a winning start against Australia.
Our number one speaks from experience having skippered his country in their last three major international tournaments and he is determined to ensure Didier Deschamps’ side hit the ground running when they take on Australia in their Group C opener in Kazan on Saturday (11am UK).
“It’s very important to step into the competition from the first moment and to start with a win – that gives you a lot of confidence,” said the 31-year-old, who could reach a century of caps for France during the group stage.
Hugo is filled with optimism by the quality of the current crop of French players but insists they cannot get ahead of themselves as they look to go one better than at Euro 2016, when they were beaten 1-0 after extra time in the final by Portugal.
“We have a lot of talented players and now it’s about finding the right balance between talent and attitude,” he said. “That’s why you cannot be focused on things that will come later, you just need to focus on the first game.”
France emerged victorious from their opening matches against less-fancied opponents at the 2014 World Cup (3-0 against Honduras) and Euro 2016 (2-1 against Romania) but Hugo is aware that Australia cannot be taken lightly.
“For me, Australia are like a British team and they will play a familiar type of game,” he said. “It’s important to respect the opponent. If they are at the World Cup, there is no doubt they will be ready to fight and challenge France.”