France coach Laurent Blanc: draw with Bosnia may be good result
France coach Laurent Blanc has moved to cool hopes of a win over Bosnia in their UEFA 2012 European Football Championship qualifying match tonight by claiming that a draw may be a good result.
The national team suffered a blow to their hopes of qualifying for the finals of the tournament in Poland and Ukraine when they lost their opening match of the campaign to Belarus.
Now, France will have to contend with Bosnia and their dangerous striker Edin Dzeko if they are to avoid finishing the first qualifying double-header without any points on the board.
Talented opponents
Blanc told L’Equipe that his team’s opponents were a talented side and that Bosnia would be looking to make the most of their home advantage.
He said that: "We can't say in advance whether a draw is a good result for us. Bosnia are a good team and we can expect them to give their utmost. We have never said that we have not set our sights on the full three points against Bosnia. However, we have to be realistic. I don't know whether it's an advantage for us that Bosnia are the home team and will take the initiative. Bosnia are the strongest opponent in our group and we have to make sure that we don't spill too many points against them.”
Morale boost needed
Meanwhile, Chelsea winger Florent Malouda — who has been named as the new France captain — said that the team needs to pick up points in tonight’s game to boost morale, but that the players shouldn’t be “downhearted after just one game”.
He told UEFA’s official website that: “We have to get a result. This team needs a good performance and a result that can become a reference.”
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