France’s critics were told to lay off the team by assistant coach Guy Stephan on Wednesday, who said they never expected to saunter to victory at the European Championship.

Stephan, himself a former Senegal coach, said those who believed France would have any easy tournament in Germany were misguided.

"We never said that we were going to have a cakewalk, that we were going to win every match. I remember my reaction after the draw. I said ‘be careful’," he told a press conference.

He did, however, admit that the pre-tournament favourites were not looking as sharp as they might.

"It's true that at the collective level, we can do better. We must do better in terms of efficiency. But there are also good things. We had more possession, more chances than the opponents. Either we see the bottle half full or half empty. I prefer to see it half full."

Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann have been singled out for unfair criticism, Stephan added.

“We all downplayed Mbappe’s broken nose a bit. It doesn't explain everything, but the shock was traumatic. The mask he is forced to play with is not easy, it’s difficult for his peripheral vision.

“He also had a somewhat tiring end to the season. But Kylian remains a top, top level player. There are times when these top-level players are a little less good.

“With Griezmann, we’re talking about a player who has 133 caps, who has scored 44 goals, who, until last March, played more than 80 matches in a row for the France team."

Stephan said Griezmann continued to be an effective team player, with a subtle influence not always picked up by the pundits.

"We're not suddenly going to question his input," he added.

France will have to change their lineup for Friday’s quarter final against Portugal in Hamburg with midfielder Adrien Rabiot suspended.

"He is an excellent player, very active, who has gained confidence. We must find a solution but the decision (on a replacement) has not been made," Stephan said. (Reporting by Mark Gleeson; Editing by Ed Osmond)

Need a 'stronger rival'

Mbappe is going to be "one of the greatest players" but the French forward will need someone to keep pushing him throughout like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi did to each other, said former England striker Michael Owen on Wednesday.

With Ronaldo confirming that the ongoing Euro 2024 will be his last appearance in the tournament, the focus will be on the stars of the future who can fill in the big shoes and Owen feels there are plenty of young talent to take the centre stage.

“Well, there will be stars of the future. Kylian Mbappe is going to be one of the greatest players,” Owen said during a virtual interaction organised by SonyLiv.

"He has (Ronaldo) already said this will be his last year or so. It's life. We've probably seen him already at his best. He's not going to get any better now.”

"It's (time) for the new players to come through, someone like Mbappe, (Jamal) Musiala, (Jude) Bellingham, (Phil) Foden... (there are) some great players coming through."

"But you'd have to say Mbappe is something special, something that when you watch a game, he takes your breath away.

“Maybe he needs somebody else to push like Messi and Ronaldo have had throughout the careers. But in terms of quality, over the next five, six, seven, eight years, we're going to be very entertained by Mbappe,” Owen added.

The stage is now set for a Mbappe vs Ronaldo showdown on Saturday.

Reuters, PTI