AS Roma coach Jose Mourinho warned England not to imitate France’s lead after ensuring qualification for the quarter-finals of Euro 2020 (Euro 2021).
England qualified impressively after defeating tough opponents, Germany, in the round of 16 of Euro 2020. The Three Lions stepped into the next phase thanks to goals from Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane.
England’s success did not go unnoticed by Mourinho. The Portuguese coach even predicted that England could step into the final after the victory over Germany.
However, the coach nicknamed The Special One warned Gareth Southgate’s team not to be like France. According to Mourinho, France can’t go any further because they don’t respect.
“I don’t see England losing against one of the four teams they can play against in the quarter-finals or semi-finals, but you have to have respect. France are not there because they don’t respect this game,” Mourinho said as quoted by Metro.
“I think they are ready for anything and I will be disappointed if they don’t reach the final,” said Mourinho.
France was set as an example by Mourinho after Les Bleus were surprisingly eliminated in the round of 16. Meeting non-seeded Switzerland, the 2018 World Cup champions were eliminated because they lost on penalties 4-5 after drawing 3-3 in extra time.
Kylian Mbappe and his friends had a 3-1 lead over Switzerland with 15 minutes remaining. However, carelessness near the end of the game allowed La Nati to equalize 3-3.
In the shootout, Switzerland emerged victorious after Kylian Mbappe’s shot as France’s last executor was read by goalkeeper Yann Sommer.
Here are three reasons why France were knocked out of Euro 2020 (Euro 2021) according to Mourinho, quoted from talksport:
1. Swiss mentality
Mourinho believes Switzerland has a strong mentality ahead of the match against France. Bringing the spirit of nothing to lose, Switzerland successfully showed fighting power throughout the match.
“I think the Swiss mentality is, ‘we may lose, but let’s fight until the end and leave the pitch proud’.”
2. France Satisfies Quickly
Mourinho assessed that France was quickly satisfied when they turned 3-1 ahead before the match through a pair of goals from Karim Benzema and Paul Pogba.
“They were having fun too soon. They were fantastic. The way they turned things around was amazing. Benzema’s first goal, incredible. Pogba’s goal was good too. Then after that they had fun too soon.”
3. Withdraw Griezmann
Jose Mourinho called Didier Deschamps’ decision to withdraw Antoine Griezmann in the 89th minute as a mistake.
“When there is an opportunity for extra time, then it is a big gamble. Then in the extra time, France are faced with an unfortunate situation when Benzema is injured or feels uncomfortable and has to lose two top players up front.”
“During extra time, I never felt that France could win a game because they didn’t have the power to do that,” Mourinho said.
