Ahead of France’s Round of 16 clash against Belgium, French defender William Saliba has issued a bold statement, declaring, “We fear no one, whoever it may be.”
The 23-year-old defender is confident facing Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku, saying in a press conference: “Maybe there aren’t many defenders who would want to face an opponent like Lukaku, but we have no choice, this is the reality of football.”
He added, “As a defender, it’s an honor to be able to face a top striker in such a crucial game, it’s a great opportunity to test yourself. Against such a striker, you have to be fully focused, minimize mistakes. We know his strength, so we need to keep a proper defensive distance.”
Despite Lukaku’s subpar performance in this European Championship and Belgium’s mixed results in the group stages, Saliba is not taking them lightly.
“Their group stage performance may not have shown their true strength, but underestimating them based on that would be a mistake, a trap, because every game is a new start,” Saliba warned.
On the upcoming France-Belgium duel, Saliba said: “The matches between Belgium and France have always been explosive. They will give it their all, and we will too. We have no disrespect for Belgium, they are a top team, with many great players, victory won’t be easy. But we, the French team, fear no one, we fear no opponent. If Belgium is fearless as well, then even better, Monday’s game will prove everything. We will give it our all to win.”
This key battle will take place at the Düsseldorf Arena at midnight on July 2, with the winner facing the winner of the Portugal-Slovenia match in the quarter-finals.
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