Arsene Wenger says history shows that hosting Euro 2016 should work in France’s favour this summer.
Les Bleus are the pre-tournament favourites, and won both the 1984 European Championship and the 1998 World Cup on home soil.
France open the tournament against Romania on Friday and Wenger is looking forward to seeing how his compatriots fare.
“For me, the Euros are a bit more interesting, because the standard is more level than at the World Cup,” he told Arsenal Player. “At the World Cup, you sometimes have big differences between countries, which is not the case in Europe anymore.
“[Hosting it] can be a break and a handicap, because of the huge pressure that is dictated today by the expectation level of the country and of the media.
“I believe it can be a handicap until you get to the level that is expected from people. After, it becomes a massive plus.
“If you analyse England, France, Germany - they have won competitions at home. France have only won three major tournaments, and two of those have been at home. There’s a history there that is in favour of France.”
Copyright 2024 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.
