Sagna, 32, played in Friday’s match at the Stade De France between France and Germany during terror attacks across Paris that saw 129 people killed and said he had tears in his eyes at the tributes paid to the victims ahead of the game at Wembley.
Advertisement
England won the friendly 2-0 through goals from Dele Alli and Wayne Rooney but it mattered little.
These two old sporting adversaries set the traditional rivalries aside as Wembley became a symbol of solidarity, never more so than when both sets of fans joined together before kick-off to sing the French national anthem “La Marseillaise”, with the words “Against us tyranny’s bloody banner is raised” carrying particular resonance. “That’s very important for us, for Europe and for the world, for all the people who are fighting against dictatorships and terrorism”.
“We have to thank the English for the reception they gave us, for their support”, he said. We’ve had three terrible days.
Given the emotionally-charged nature of the friendly against France, it was even more remarkable how Alli and fellow full debutant Eric Dier stepped up to the plate on Tuesday.
“We have been welcomed here like it’s our own home”, said Sebastien Correia, a train driver from Calais who was attending the game with nine friends. We struggled to focus. Despite the circumstances we wanted to do our best to represent the country.
France’s players – with 13 in the squad who are playing or have played in the Premier League – were given a warm ovation as they came out to warm up, returning the gesture by gathering in the centre circle to acknowledge the applause.
There had been suggestions the game would be cancelled, coming so soon after last week’s tragic events, but Lloris believes a powerful message was sent out by going ahead with the fixture. There was no sense of panic among supporters, who appeared intent on sending a defiant message of unity after the bombings in the French capital.
“It was more about solidarity and character because sport and football is important”. We have a platform. It was a strongly emotional experience. It has been a hard, stressful time, but we have been together and each of us, in our way, has kept up to date with the events.
“I think it’s a great thing for the manager, you know?” They have been in our thoughts throughout.
“That was something special, I’m delighted to score it, but I am not thinking about the European championships or the World Cup yet, I’ve got plenty to learn to stay in the England team”, he said after winning his fourth cap.
Advertisement
“La Marseillaise, that was a very hard moment because we all thought of the victims, their families, of all the horrors that took place on Friday”.
