GOALKEEPER Hugo Lloris believes France can only grow stronger as the hosts' journey through Euro 2016 continues against Albania in Marseille.
Les Bleus opened the tournament with a 2-1 win over Romania on what was an emotional night at Stade de France. The relief in Saint-Denis and, indeed, around the whole nation was palpable following a spectacular late strike from Dimitri Payet, the West Ham midfielder himself in tears when substituted during the closing stages.
Tottenham goalkeeper Lloris feels with the weight of expectation lifted following two years' of non-competitive internationals, Didier Deschamps' squad can take confidence into Wednesday night's second Group A fixture at Stade Velodrome.
"We did not know what to expect in the first game, it was the opening match of the tournament and, yes, there is a bit more pressure than usual. During the national anthem, there was a special flavour to it," Lloris said at a news conference.
"But we know the context here, we just need to keep winning in order to try to qualify after two matches."
Lloris continued: "The positive aspect was taking all three points. It has given us a bit of breathing space and confidence, got us up and running in the competition.
"There are a few things we need to improve on such as ball possession, we weren't neat and tidy enough on the technical side, we missed a lot of passes and were a little bit nervous because it was the opening match of the competition. But now we are up and running, it will be a completely different fixture [against Albania].
"The aim is to try to progress and improve as this competition goes on. We were far from perfect in our opening game but, in order to grow, you need to go through tough times. However, we need to be very disciplined, focused and determined to go and get the three points."
Albania may have lost their opening match against Switzerland in Lens, where captain Lorik Cana was sent-off in the 36th minute, but France will not be complacent. Les Bleus were beaten 1-0 in a friendly in Elbasan in June 2015 and had previously been held 1-1 in Rennes, with Albania going on to qualify in second place behind Portugal in Group I.
Lloris said: "We know what sort of match to expect.
"We have seen in this tournament, there are no easy games, everything is tight and could go one way or the other, so mental strength is essential."
France coach Deschamps believes patience will be key to securing another positive result: "They are a well-organised side, but do not just defend very well, they break forwards very quickly and work very hard, which is impressive," he said.
"It is not just physical fitness, they also have good attacking players who can cause problems and created a number of chances in the first match. So when it is difficult like that, we must be patient."
Albania coach Gianni De Biasi wants his men fully focused on their own game rather than the occasion when they tackle the Euro 2016 hosts: "We have worked on trying to go into the game with the right balance, closing down the space, what we have done for a long while now," the Italian said.
"We know France very well. They are playing at home and will be really driven, so we will work on limiting some of their play then breaking as soon as we get the chance to do so."
