A day before the match between the world champions France and its submerged Hungarian counterpart, at Euro 2020, the latter's coach said that the value of France's players is 15 times the value of Hungary's, while the roosters' coach praised Antoine Griezmann as one of the greatest players of all time.
The match between France and Hungary in Budapest, tomorrow, Saturday, in the second round of Group F in the European Football Championship, will witness the 50th consecutive appearance of Griezmann in the starting lineup for the France national team.
It is expected that Griezmann, who scored 37 goals in 92 international matches with France, is 6 games away from the previous record in the base posts held by Patrick Vieira.
France will qualify for the quarter-finals, one match before the end of the group stage, if it defeats Hungary.
"He (Griezmann) is one of those players who can change matches. He is very creative, he has the ability to think outside the box, it's great to watch him play," France coach Didier Deschamps said in a press conference on Friday.
He added, "He broke a record (in starts), plays consecutive matches and that's great for him. He may not be 20 years old anymore, but he takes care of himself very well."
"You can see his impact in the goals he scores and assists. In addition to that, his ability to change the game, while returning to defensive duties. He is one of the greatest players of all time in Europe and the world."
After a 1-0 win over Germany in their opening match of the tournament, France are second in Group F behind Portugal, who beat Hungary 3-0 in Budapest on Tuesday.
Mats Hummels pounces on Hernandez's cross to clear it, but his ball hit the friendly net, announcing the French team's progress # Euro 2020 # France_Germany pic.twitter.com/BkUmMVkIjH
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) June 15, 2021
Although France will face Portugal after Hungary, Deschamps confirmed that he does not plan to rest his players while thinking about this confrontation, which is likely to be at the top of the group.
"It is now important to think about our style of play in the next match," Deschamps said.
"We take it step by step. This means that I don't think about the third match. We are preparing for Hungary and nothing else. I put the same squad up as the first match against Germany. We'll see what happens."
Mbappe manipulated the German team's defenses 🇩🇪, but the goal was canceled due to offside ❌#France_Germany |
#Euro2020 pic.twitter.com/vbH6qr4GfY
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) June 15, 2021
15 times
On the other hand, Hungary coach Marco Rossi said that his players will do their best against the world champion France in their match, noting that the value of France's players is 15 times the value of his country's players.
"France's squad is worth 900 million euros, compared to only 60 million for Hungary, so you may see the differences on the field," Rossi added in a press conference.
Although Hungary is out of the nominations in the "group of death", which includes France, Germany and Portugal, it held against Portugal, holders of the European Championship, until the 84th minute in the first match on Tuesday, before conceding 3 goals in the last minutes.
Rossi made it clear that his team will most likely rely on defensive stamina in front of another opponent who has a terrible attacking power.
"We will play against France as we did against Portugal, but we need to put in an impeccable performance in every respect," he said.
"We hope that France will be absent from its normal state tomorrow. We hope to achieve a good result and strive to continue to progress in the tournament," he added.