“We want gold”, hammers since the beginning of the Euro the generation led by Evan Fournier and Rudy Gobert.
The two friends have never touched the Grail with the Blues.
Bronze and silver, they know but not yet the most beautiful metal.
Evan Fournier intends to repair this lack against Spain on Sunday.
In what state of mind do you approach the final against Spain?
EVAN FOURNIER.
More calmly than the semi-final against Poland.
There, I was stressed and I had apprehension.
It is due to my experience with the France team.
In the semi-finals with the Blues I missed out on great things so many times.
In 2014, for example, we lost and missed a World Cup final, the following year, we lost again in the semi-finals of a Euro that we were supposed to win, similar to the World Cup in 2019 By force, it marks.
Until what point ?
I fear a lot because when you lose a half, you have to play again and fight for a last game behind and a small final that is not very useful.
When you finish third, it's cool because you come home with a medal.
But no one cares.
It's a very hard played game and I'm happy that this time we don't have to go through that.
Is a final played differently than a semi-final?
Clearly.
To approach a final, you have no calculations to make, no stress to have.
You go for it and then that's it.
Come on hop https://t.co/2VprOewXFy pic.twitter.com/Z6g5Hoiq0I
— Evan Fournier (@EvanFourmizz) September 16, 2022
Do you feel concerned by the rivalry with Spain?
The growing rivalry for our generation is with Slovenia.
We play them every time since 2017. The rivalry with the old ones, it marks the old players, especially.
I'm sure that Boris
(Diaw, manager of the Blues)
wants to put on his shorts to play this final.
It is marked for this generation, for part of the staff too.
It happens to them but not to us.
The only players who have lived with Spain are me, Rudy
(Gobert)
and Thomas
(Heurtel)
and when we played against them in 2014, we won in Madrid.
I don't think the Spaniards opposite are in this rivalry either.
They too are new.
How did France, which lost in Bosnia three weeks ago, end up in the final of the Euro?
Bosnia was for the 2023 World Cup qualifiers. Each competition has its truth, its story.
I am always wary of preparations where everything goes well.
When you win, you don't see your mistakes.
We had difficult times, it's true, but we always moved forward.
These bad passages reinforce us in the idea that if we play a complete match, we can beat anyone.
Read also“The past matters, the rivalry exists…”: Boris Diaw details the particular flavor of a final against Spain
What is Spain's greatest strength?
The Spaniards are very well coached, they have a unique know-how in Europe, they are a pain in the ass.
Regardless of the players, they always have a very strong notion of a team.
The team above all is always their priority and their great strength.
Would you have preferred to face Germany in the final?
For the atmosphere, yes.
The worst thing about a final is playing on neutral ground in a room that's a bit too crowded.
It's not great.
You don't want that.
When a room is full, you feed on the energy of the fans whether they are for or against you.