Euro 2012: Blanc Casts France as Group D Underdogs
France coach Laurent Blanc has branded England the favorites to qualify from Euro 2012 Group D, but admitted that Friday's draw in Kiev could have been much worse for his side.
Sweden and cohosts the Ukraine make up the pool, which will be contested in the Ukrainian cities of Donetsk and Kiev and will kick off with France's match against England at Donetsk's Donbass Arena on June 11.
"We could have found ourselves in Denmark's place and when you see where they are in Group B (with the Netherlands, Germany and Portugal), it could have been very complicated," Blanc told AFP.
"We could have also been in Group A, which seems very open to me (with Poland, Greece, Russia and the Czech Republic). So much the better for our Polish and Czech friends.
"We have the cohosts (Ukraine), who we know very well, having played them not that long ago (a 4-1 friendly win in June), but the context will be different.
"We know England just as well but that will be a different context too. And then there's Sweden, who are always very difficult to play against as they're very physical.
"There will be a favorite -- England -- and behind them, the three teams all have realistic hopes of qualifying."
Pending an appeal, England will be missing talisman Wayne Rooney for their three group games after he was sent off in his side's final qualifying match in Montenegro.
Blanc, however, was careful not to play up the significance of the Manchester United striker's likely absence.
"They've made an appeal," said the France coach, a member of the France team that triumphed at Euro 2000 in Belgium and the Netherlands.
"The appeal could lead to something but, in any case, he'll be suspended for the first match against France.
"A player of Rooney's class not being in the opposition team, that could be good news."
Blanc had been concerned about the possibility of starting the competition on June 8, with France's Ligue 1 not finishing until May 20, and he admitted he was relieved to be kicking off three days later.
"It's true that it's good news because we could have played on the eighth and been obliged to be there on the third," he said.
"This give us three extra days. It's a good thing, but I repeat: to have a good preparation and a preparation equal to our opponents, it would be good if the French championship finished on May 13."
Blanc is seeking to guide France back to the upper echelons of the world game, after the disappointment of their disastrous group stage exit at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
They were also eliminated at the group phase in Euro 2008 and Blanc said that the relative kindness of the draw would not lead his side to under-estimate their opponents next summer.
"If we started changing (tactics) depending on our opponents, we'd never finish," he said.
"The best teams in world football are Spain, the Netherlands and Germany. We won't meet them in the first round so we'll see if we can impose our game. But there's work to do."
Source: Agence France Presse
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