Deschamps calls on France players to distance from Euros hype

France coach Didier Deschamps doesn't want his players to compare themselves to the heroes in previous campaigns ahead of Friday's Euro 2016 opener.

Les Bleus, who won the 1984 Euros and the 1998 World Cup on home soil, will kick off the 24-team tournament against Group A opponents Romania at Stade de France, which witnessed the French national side's glory of 18 years ago.

Deschamps, however, said it's unwise to fall into the hype ahead of the 2016 event.

"I'm not really looking at 1998. It was so long ago. I wasn't in the same uniform, I don't have the same role," said the former Juventus midfielder, who capped 103 for France and captained the national side the last time they were champions of Europe in 2000.

"Each player experiences these matches in a different fashion. What's important is you mustn't focus too early and try to play the game before it actually begins.

"Everything that comes before mustn't influence our mindset as we go out on the field tomorrow night. You need to just have these butterflies in your stomach before an important game because we haven't achieved anything yet.

"We need to get into that mindset without looking at any permutations - without pressure, without feeling fragility.

"We mustn't make a mountain out of a molehill. We need to distance ourselves from it. It's not going to affect our preparations. We've been preparing for two years for Friday, June 10," he said.

Deschamps' team bowed out at the World Cup quarterfinals in Brazil after losing to the eventual winners Germany and played solely friendlies in the last two years with automatic berth into Euro 2016.

"France haven't played any competitive matches for two years now," said the 47-year-old. "Once again we are going to experience that again tomorrow."

As Romania coach Anghel Lordanescu pointed out that France have some shortcomings at the back after working with the video analysts to devise a team plan.

"Our plan is to compete on an even footing," said Lordanescu, who's proud that he has a rock-solid defense in his team, which conceding only two goals in 10 games in qualifying.

"I'm sure our players are ready to overcome the spells of pressure and domination they're likely to face," he said. "We don't simply want to defend. We want to have a balanced style of play and cause problems for the French."

Deschamps, however, had the belief in his squad and was confident that they'd solved the defense shortcoming once they fingered there's a problem.

"I think I have a side with very exciting attacking potential. Clearly in a big competition you need to be able to strike the right balance and defend well," said the French boss. "And throughout our recent friendly matches we focused on having an effective defensive block."

"The Romanians are very well organized in defence, but they can also close you down high up and force you into mistakes. They can break quickly from defense to attack with their fast, technical players."

"I prefer to play more directly even if it means taking more risks," Deschamps said. "I don't think I have the right team to hold the ball and wear teams down. I think we have a team more capable of accelerating play."

Landed as one of the favorite to crown the tournament, France will also take on Albania and Switzerland in the group stages of Euro 2016. Endit