When Dimitri Payet angled a stunning strike into the top corner of Romania’s net, giving France a dramatic win to kick-start their tournament, Euro 2016 was energised.
It was a moment of sheer zest, dropping the curtain on a month of top-level competition. That’s the impact a host nation can have. Regardless of your respective nationality, a major tournament is always better, more compelling, when the hosts find their groove.
Of course, it proved to be something of a false dawn. Didier Deschamps’ side haven’t quite hit their stride just yet, with les bleus suffering more than the odd bout of the blues over the past two weeks. In fact, Payet’s late winner against Romania is as good as things have got for France so far. At that moment lift-off was declared, when in actual fact they have yet to truly get off the ground.
Hosting Euro 2016 hasn’t quite been the experience France thought it would be. As early tournament favourites this summer was billed as the coming of age for the country’s “Golden Generation.” As hosts they would be unstoppable. That was the theory, at least.
In almost every sense, the 1998 World Cup provided France with the perfect precedent. The tournament united a fractured, fragmented nation, improved the country’s sporting and even societal infrastructure, giving French sport its greatest moment of triumph. Many predicted similar jubilation would be enjoyed this summer.
However, such comparisons were perhaps a little facile. Common convention states that host nations are at a fundamental advantage, playing with the support of an energised, charged up country behind them. But evidence to support that view is diminishing with every major tournament. Should France falter this summer the case to the contrary would be too strong.
Take Brazil, hosts of the 2014 World Cup, for instance. No team in history has ever been burdened with such hefty expectation. The Selecao entered the competition knowing that nothing less than a ticker-tape triumph at the Maracana would be tolerated, with only Neymar comfortable with such pressure. The 7-1 semifinal capitulation to Germany was considered a national tragedy, plunging Brazil into mourning. It was all too much.
In the modern age of social media and 24 hour news coverage pressure has never weighed heavier on host nations than it does now. Strain and stress has reached an unhealthy level. Hosting a major tournament is no longer the advantage it once was. Now it is nothing more than a burden, and France is suffering for it at Euro 2016.
Even their most accomplished players have been hit. Paul Pogba, ordinarily the swaggering epitome of self-assurance and confidence, looked unsteady on opening night, with the midfielder dropped for France’s second group game against Albania. Antoine Griezmann also suffered the indignity of a starting lineup omission following his substandard display against Romania.
Just like Brazil was before its collapse in the semifinals, France is getting by and no more. The emphatic statement of intent, imposing their authority on the tournament, has yet to arrive, with Deschamps’ side less than impressive in every one of their outings. Hosting Euro 2016 hasn’t quite been the advantage it was meant to be.
The economical benefits of hosting a major tournament are under scrutiny too. For reasons that go beyond any sporting rationale, UEFA is struggling to find willing host nations for the European Championship. It’s why the 2020 tournament will be held across the continent, with 13 different host venues in 13 different cities. UEFA might claim the pan-European format is to mark the 60th birthday of the event, with Michel Platini calling it a “romantic” one-off, but that is nothing more than contrived spin.
So is there any incentive left for a country to put itself forward as a host? Why would any nation put itself through financial and sporting turmoil for just one month of top level competition? Potential answers to that question are in shorter supply than ever before. From every possible perspective the benefits of hosting a major tournament are questionable in the extreme.
That’s not to say les bleus cannot succeed this summer, though. They still boast one of the strongest squads in the competition and will likely make the semifinals at least, with relative minnows Iceland as quarterfinal opponents. But if France does go all the way at Euro 2016 it will be in spite of their status as tournament hosts, not because of it
Sportsnet’s Soccer Central podcast (featuring Thomas Dobby, Brendan Dunlop, John Molinaro and James Sharman) takes an in-depth look at the beautiful game and offers timely and thoughtful analysis on the sport’s biggest issues.