Football
PA Sport 8y

France must learn from defeat of Republic of Ireland - Hugo Lloris

Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris admits France cannot afford to repeat the start they had against the Republic of Ireland on Sunday if they want to win Euro 2016 on home soil.

Robbie Brady converted a third-minute penalty after Paul Pogba had clumsily fouled Shane Long at the Stade de Lyon to rock a Les Bleus team who did not recover until after the half-time interval in a 2-1 triumph.

Having won major tournaments in each of the previous two competitions where they have entertained, expectation is high among French supporters that Didier Deschamps' side can deliver a hat trick of home successes.

However, captain Lloris has warned that the chaotic opening stages against the Irish, when the French XI lacked cohesiveness following Brady's opener, should serve as a lesson moving forward.

"We need to learn about that because maybe at this stage of the competition it's possible to go through but in the next round, that kind of mistake, we need to avoid that,'' the Tottenham goalkeeper said.

"The good thing is that we have one week to prepare for the next game.''

The French were vastly improved upon the resumption, with forward Antoine Griezmann scoring twice in three minutes during the hosts' best spell of the entire tournament.

Lloris was among those who had attempted to rally his colleagues during the interval, but the keeper also praised Deschamps' tactical tinkering as the introduction of winger Kingsley Coman helping to turn the tide.

"It's true that the tactical change of the manager helped the team a little bit as well,'' Lloris added.

"It's in the attitude. We changed our attitude, we were more aggressive, showed more determination in the second half and I think we were rewarded by the way we fought at the end because in the second half we fully deserved this qualification.

"It was important to say a word at half-time, not only the manager but the leaders of the team. It's important to say the truth and we needed that because it made a difference in the second half.''

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