England’s players and coaching staff watched footage of the attacks on television in the team hotel in Benidorm following their 2-0 defeat against Spain and Rooney described what he saw as “sickening”.
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The significance of it might not have dawned on the average French-man taking a break in London but those in Didier Deschamps’ squad who have made England their home will have glanced a few times at the armed Metropolitan police offi-cers who stood by the tunnel at Wembley last night as the squad came out to train.
The squad were exposed to the attacks as their friendly with Germany at the Stade de France was among the targets, with a bystander and three suicide bombers dying in blasts outside the stadium.
Roy Hodgson: “I’m not sure how to balance enormity of occasion with questions about players and a football match”.
Lassana Diarra’s cousin Asta Diakite was one of the 129 people who died, while Antoine Griezmann’s sister managed to escape the mass killing at the Bataclan theatre.
But the decision to play wasn’t automatic, he said. “Then I informed Deschamps around midday [on Saturday]”.
Regarding the anthem, Lloris said: “We will sing that together and share in that moment”.
“We would have liked to have seen the people close to us and spend time with our nearest and dearest”.
“Like all my teammates, we respect this decision and it will be a good opportunity to represent the national team”, Hugo Lloris said at Wembley Stadium, where the game will take place on Tuesday.
The decision to play the highly emotional game was taken on Saturday morning by French federation president Noel Le Graet and Deschamps.
“It will be a great moment of solidarity”. “We’ve received it too from around the world. They’re respectful. We’re grateful for that”.
“I know the English very well, playing here, and I know they’ll help us to commemorate and do the right thing, supporting us”.
“We will be here with ever more pride to represent our colors, of blue, white and red, our country, proudly”, Deschamps said via the Telegraph newspaper.
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“I am very afraid that this black Friday could be repeated”.
