Skipper Lloris urges France players to buck up against Austria in Nations League

France skipper Hugo Lloris called on his teammates to show their character and react on Friday night to disappointing results in the Nations League.

France captain Hugo Lloris has called on his teammates to recapture their form following a defeat and a draw in their Nations League games. AFP

France started the defence of their crown with a surprise 2-1 defeat at home to Denmark on 3 June.

That was followed three days later with a 1-1 stalemate in Croatia.

With only one point from their two games, France, who beat Spain in October to claim the 2021 Nations League, lie in third place in League A Group 1.

Denmark, who host Croatia in Copenhagen on Friday night, set the pace in the group with six points following the opening night victory over France and a 2-1 triumph over Austria.

A win for France at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion in Vienna would take them above their hosts.

"It’s an important game," said Lloris. “We’re lacking points and though the performances have been OK, we’re well behind Denmark and we must show that we’ve got the resources to win this game.

Ambition

“We want to finish top of the pool and despite a bad start, we have got to try to finish this series of games on a positive note.”

France are likely to be without star striker Kylian Mbappé in Austria. The 23-year-old Paris Saint-Germain forward went off with a knee injury during the second-half of the game against Denmark.

France team doctors expect him to recover in time for the game against Croatia on Monday at the Stade de France.

But they harbour concerns over defender Presnel Kimpembe, midfielder Adrien Rabiot as well as strikers Moussa Diaby and Christopher Nkunku. 

Austria have been the surprise package of the opening flurry of games. They crushed Croatia 3-0 on 3 June and narrowly lost to Denmark on 6 June. 

Progress

“This match is about confirming the progress that we've shown in our last two games and then taking another step forward,” said Austria boss Ralf Rangnick.

“We have to cut out the mistakes we made at the back against Denmark and create as many scoring chances as possible."

Elsewhere in the competition, on Thursday night Portugal beat Czech Republic 2-0 to go two points clear at the top of League A Group 2.

Spain moved into second place following a 1-0 win in Switzerland. Pablo Sarabia struck the winner in the 13th minute.

"The result defines everything," said Spain boss Luis Enrique. "That's how professional football works. We knew how to impose our style. 

"Switzerland are a top team. Let's remember how they played at the European championships and that they've also reached the World Cup."