France boss downplays 'easy draw'

France is going for a hat-trick of major titles on home territory at Euro 2016 and has a kind draw, but coach Didier Deschamps is seeking to douse national expectations.

Looking to add to its 1984 European Championship and 1998 World Cup titles, France will face Switzerland, Romania and an Albania side appearing at its first major finals in Group A.

But as anticipation builds ahead of Les Bleus' opening game against Romania on Friday, Deschamps - who lifted the World Cup as a player 18 years ago - knows his team still has to take care of business on the pitch.

"What is an easy draw? An easy draw is when you have won the matches, that is all!" he told French newspaper La Depeche.

"I suppose you are going to tell me we could have got more renowned opponents. Romania is not flashy, is that it? But it didn't qualify by accident, and neither did Albania nor Switzerland."

Having won nine of 10 friendly games since September, France is in good form. And it has one of the most potent attacks on the continent, making it one of the overall favorites.

"We will be ready. We have been preparing for two years," Deschamps said after watching his squad beat Scotland 3-0 in its final warm-up game in Metz on Saturday.

France is without Real Madrid star Karim Benzema, sidelined due to his involvement in the Mathieu Valbuena sex tape blackmail scandal.

Question marks

The loss of Mamadou Sakho, not picked after a positive doping test, and injuries to Raphael Varane, Lassana Diarra and others leave question marks in defence and midfield.

But N'Golo Kante has emerged in the middle and the presence of players such as Antoine Griezmann, Dimitri Payet and Anthony Martial means the loss of Benzema may scarcely be felt.

France's attack will look to prove itself immediately against Romania, whose defensive strength carried it through qualifying.

Under veteran coach Anghel Iordanescu, in his third spell at the helm, Romania is a team of few stars, apart from exciting attacking midfielder Nicolae Stanciu.

"Everything is based on unity of the group, tactical discipline and willingness to perform," said Iordanescu, who took Romania to the last 16 of the 1998 World Cup.

There will be few more intriguing contests in the group stage than Switzerland's meeting with Albania in Lens on Saturday.

That game will see Swiss midfielder Granit Xhaka, recently signed by Arsenal, face his brother Taulant, who plays for Albania.

The siblings were born in Basel to Kosovar-Albanian parents and both represented Switzerland at the youth level.

They will be the first brothers to meet in a Euro Championship finals game.

There are multiple links between the nations. Half a dozen members of the Albanian squad were born in Switzerland, including Xhaka and Shkelzen Gashi, formerly of Basel. Skipper Lorik Cana spent a decade in Switzerland as a child.

Now with Nantes, Cana also considers France his "second home" and will lead the Balkan nation on the field for its first major tournament appearance.

"I started with the national team more than 13 years ago now. My objective has always been to play in a major tournament with Albania," said Cana, who was born in Kosovo.

Coached by the Italian Gianni De Biasi, Albania is hoping to progress to the knockout stages as a third-place team.

Meanwhile the Swiss, whose star player is Kosovar-born Xherdan Shaqiri of Stoke City, is on paper Group A's strongest side behind the host.

Ronaldo expands his museum

Cristiano Ronaldo's museum on Madeira has upsized to a larger home in anticipation of the Real Madrid star winning "future trophies", his cousin said on Monday.

The Portugal striker's self-financed shrine now occupies a prime seafront position in Funchal, the island's capital where "CR7" was born in 1985.

The museum's new two-story site "will be able to welcome Ronaldo's future trophies," said his cousin Nuno Viveiros, who also serves as museum director.

The treasure trove charting the success of Madeira's most famous son attracts 200,000 visitors annually.

Among the 160 trophies on display are Ronaldo's three Ballons d'Or, given to the player voted the world's best.

But one glaring omission is any honor relating to his time on international duty.

The 31-year-old, who won a third Champions League title last month, is hoping to redress that anomaly at Euro 2016, with Portugal opening its Group F campaign against Iceland on June 14.

(China Daily 06/08/2016 page22)