Fri 20 June 2014, 09:37
Tottenham HotspurHugo Lloris pointed to Switzerland’s recent international record as proof that France have a real task on their hands at the World Cup this evening.
Our charismatic stopper, who captains Les Bleus, kept a clean sheet in last weekend’s comfortable 3-0 win against Honduras.
But ahead of his nation’s second Group E outing against the Swiss, kick-off 8pm, the 27-year-old believes tonight's opponents could prove tough to break down in light of their stringent defensive record at recent World Cups.
“Switzerland always have a good team so it’s not easy,” said Hugo, referring to the way France’s European neighbours did not concede a single goal at the 2006 finals – eventually being knocked out on penalties by Ukraine – and only let in a solitary strike in 2010, thus setting a new tournament record for minutes played without conceding.
“They are always strong and we know them quite well because some of their players have featured in Europe.
“They also finished top of their qualification group so that means they are very competitive. We know they will be at 100 per cent so it will be a very tough game.”
