Blanc: I can see Spain winning Euro 2012 but I cannot say the same for France

Posted Friday, May 25, 2012 by Goal.com

Laurent Blanc has confessed that while he can easily see Spain winning Euro 2012, he cannot say the same about his France side.

Many pundits are tipping the defending champions to win the tournament again but there are those who believe that Les Bleus, who have been drawn alongside England, Ukraine and Sweden, could also mount a challenge.

However, Blanc has claimed that it would be foolish to expect too much from France, in light of the fact that they failed to get out of the group stages at either Euro 2008 or the 2010 World Cup.

"Spain, I can see them winning it," the former Bordeaux boss mused during a press conference on Thursday. "I cannot say the same for us.

"Spain are in front of all the others. But after [the group stages], over one game, anything can happen and Germany and Netherlands are not far away.

"We hope to be in the quarter-finals. This is our first objective. I remind you that during the last two international competitions that France has played in, we have not got past the first round. That is the reality."

Part of the reason why Blanc is so downbeat about his nation's hopes of triumphing in Poland and Ukraine is that he feels that they have lost their way since completing their qualification campaign.

"Tactically, there are things to work on," the former France international explained. "We want to develop a way to play when we have the ball. The friendly matches in November failed to help us do that.

"We must improve our ball possession. In the qualification campaign, it was pretty good but it has not been since."

France kick off their European Championship campaign against England on June 11.