England 'nice and relaxed' in Chantilly
Monday, June 6, 2016
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"The lads are just excited to get started," said Gary Cahill as England checked out the lay of the land in their Chantilly base after arriving in France this morning.
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The private jet of Roland Garros champion Novak Djoković had just set off from Le Bourget airport as England's footballers landed on Monday afternoon to embark on their UEFA EURO 2016 campaign.
Whether Roy Hodgson's side – the youngest England squad at a major tournament since 1958, and with an average age of 25, the youngest at this EURO – can emulate Djoković by lifting silverware in Paris remains to be seen. However, the England manager said he was delighted to finally arrive in France and step up his players' preparations for their opening Group B fixture against Russia in Marseille on Saturday.
Speaking immediately after touchdown at the small airport north of Paris, Hodgson said: "It's what we've been looking forward to for such a long time. We qualified quite early so we've had our minds on this moment for a long time and it's just great to be here.
"I think it will be a very good tournament with a lot of good teams taking part. We are relaxed and we think we are in decent form and just hoping we can show that on the field. The message [to the players] is we have to show confidence in ourselves. I would like the players to show as much confidence in themselves as we, the coaching staff, have in them and we know we have a lot of very talented footballers. The one thing we don't have is a lot of experience but often the energy and enthusiasm the young players will show will make up for that."
The plane had set out with the squad's northern-based players from Manchester airport in the morning, stopping at Luton airport to collect the rest of the party.
On landing they headed to their base in Chantilly, a town better known for horse racing than football, where they were welcomed by the mayor, Éric Woerthe, and other local dignitaries. Hodgson was presented with a commemorative medal in a brief ceremony featuring three horse riders in traditional costume and two hunting horn players.
The team will train at the Stade des Bourgognes, home of US Chantilly, where the Football Association (FA) groundsmen had arrived in advance, ensuring the pitches are in perfect condition.
England arrive with the only 100% qualifying record and with successive warm-up friendly wins against Turkey, Australia and Portugal behind them.
Defender Gary Cahill, one of the squad's old heads at 30, said "the mood was nice and relaxed and calm", adding: "It's a new experience for the guys who haven't been in a tournament before, but one they should be looking forward to and I know they are. The mood's relaxed and ready to get down to business. We've had some good training sessions and a good few weeks' preparation. The lads are just excited to get started."
