M'Vila: Early exit would be disaster for France
Reuters - Friday 25 May 2012, 20:38
A third consecutive early exit at
a major tournament would be a "complete disaster" for France,
midfielder Yann Mvila said on Friday.
Two years after losing the 2006 World Cup final to Italy on
penalties, France failed to reach the knockout stage at the 2008
European Championships.
They suffered the same blow at the 2010 World Cup, where the
players shocked the world by boycotting training to support
Nicolas Anelka after the forward was kicked out of the squad for
insulting then coach Raymond Domenech.
With France trying to restore their reputation, they cannot
afford another exit, M'Vila told a news conference at the
Clairefontaine training camp.
"It would not only be a failure, it would be a complete
disaster," the Stade Rennes midfielder said.
France's players have learned to be cautious about the
country's prospects at major tournaments but M'Vila, who is
heading for his first major finals with Les Bleus, was more
optimistic and said their only aim was winning the title.
"We go to the Euros to make it [a] victory," he said, adding
that France should be much higher than 16th in the FIFA world
rankings. "We're more a top five team," he said.
France are in Group D and play England on June 11 before
facing co-hosts Ukraine four days later and Sweden on June 19.