Speaking to L’Équipe, Neal Maupay (27), who will return to parent club Everton following the conclusion of his loan spell at Brentford, has given his evaluation of the England national team, whilst also taking the chance to take a few pop-shots, particularly at the ‘It’s coming home’ slogan that has become emblematic of the Three Lions.
Maupay believes that England are under pressure to win this summer’s Euros, set to take place in Germany, given the quality of their squad, the ‘favourites tag’, and also the managerial situation, with Gareth Southgate’s future thought to hinge on the outcome of the tournament.
“The English are very confident but they also have quite a bit of pressure because they have been announced as the favourites in the past few tournaments,” began the Frenchman, who despite playing for Les Bleuets, never made the step-up to the senior side. “They want to win a trophy and they have excellent players but there is so much pressure on the manager because the English media are portraying it as the last-chance saloon for him. The problem in England is that they have so many great players in attack and in midfield but the names are less flamboyant in defence, [even if] they are still accomplished Premier League players,” he told L’Équipe.
The Everton striker revealed that he is also hoping for a France-England final in July and a repeat of the result in the 2022 World Cup, when Les Bleus dumped the Three Lions out of the tournament at the quarter-final stage (1-2).
“The English always hold a grudge against France, regardless. That isn’t anything new, it doesn’t just stem from the last World Cup. They thought they should have beaten us [in 2022] and they think we were lucky. They’ve had that slogan ‘It’s coming home’ for so many years and I tell them that it never will. It’s funny and we tease each other about it. They have a great team so it would be nice to have an England-France final. After France win, I’ll celebrate and I’ll perhaps be fired by my club but it’s fine, we would have won the Euros,” said Maupay.
GFFN | Luke Entwistle
