Moldova begin the Euro 2020 qualification campaign with a home match against France. This is a remarkably tough encounter for the Moldovan national team as it represents a game against the defending world champions. Manager Alexandru Spiridon says that there is a great deal of excitement within the players and the staff about the prospect of facing players like Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappe. Moldova’s biggest challenge will be to avoid a big defeat as one of the minnows in the group stages. The expectations from Moldova are already low as a result of being placed in a group containing the likes of France, Turkey, and Iceland.
Effectively, Moldova will be fighting to avoid the bottom of the group with the likes of Andorra. In order to try and get anything out of the match against the reigning champions, Alexandru Spiridon says that a very strong atmosphere is essential. The match, though, will probably represent the toughest game in the career of Moldova players and manager. However, opposition midfielder Paul Pogba, who is considered as one of the best in the world, claims that Moldova will be a difficult challenge since the nation – ranked 170th in the world – does not have anything to lose.Spiridon agreed with this statement but refused to add too much to such mind games.
““Playing against the world champions, players like (Antoine) Griezmann or (Kylian) Mbappé, it's an honor for our players. We are more motivated than ever. The goal is to control our emotions in the first seconds of the game. After, we will have to play to show our qualities. Almost every player of the Moldovan team has to play the best match of his career tomorrow (Friday), with a total motivation. By sacrificing yourself, you can finish “with an acceptable result,” said Spiridon.