France knew it wouldn’t be easy.
They can’t afford to take anything for granted and on Saturday, they were issued a good warning by the Hungarians, who, while not as talented as the French, and without a Kylian Mbappe, played with a lot of belief and heart.
Against Germany on Tuesday night, Karim Benzema, Antoine Griezmann and Mbappe were part of a very solid collective unit that was so well-organized, defended well and was set up to play on the counter.
It was on the half-hour mark, as Griezmann’s perfect ball over the top found Mbappe, who controlled it marvellously before flicking the ball toward Benzema, who should have scored but missed wide.
We could not hear each other because of the noise in the stadium and we are not used to it anymore after playing for so long in empty stadiums and silence,” Griezmann said after the game on French TV.
There is clearly still a lot of work to be done in order for this fantastic front three on paper to be as fantastic in real life on the pitch.
They defend very well, we saw it as well until the 83rd minute against Portugal,” he said after the game.
They played with so much discipline, so much determination, so much energy and desire that they totally deserved the draw they got, one of the best results of their recent history.
A man, who had netted only one international goal, against minnows Andorra, in his whole international career prior to facing France, but who beat four-time Champions League winner Raphael Varane to score past Hugo Lloris and give Hungary a 1-0 lead on the World Champions.
For the French, and their so-far-somewhat-underwhelming front three, it will be a replay of the Euro 2016 Final against Portugal with designs for revenge on the cards.