France hoping to avoid Argentina in the next round

France are keen to beat Ecuador in their third group match, and thus avoid a meeting with Argentina in the next round, defender Mathieu Debuchy says.

24 June 2014, 3:20pm
by Staff Reporter

1 min read

Mathieu Debuchy of France. He says the French are keen to avoid Argentina in the next round - but are not underestimating Ecuador, who they must face first. Photo by EPA/GUILLAUME HORCAJUELO

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France have all-but qualified from Group E, after wins over Honduras and Switzerland, and face Ecuador - who have three points - in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday.

"We are not thinking about the next round yet, but if we can avoid Argentina, as group winners, that would obviously be a good thing," said the 28-year-old.

He said the French team of coach Didier Deschamps were having "great fun" at the World Cup, but were not overconfident.

"We are concentrating fully on Ecuador. We talk a lot together, as a group, and we've already seen that there have been a lot of surprises at this World Cup."

The other remaining game in Group E is Honduras v Switzerland. The Hondurans lost their first two games, but the Swiss - who already have three points - are still in with a chance of going through.