Lucas Hernandez recalls the win over Germany, relishes chance to play at a packed Puskas Arena vs. Hungary

It was Lucas Hernandez’s cross that Mats Hummels deflected into the back of his own net that gave France the crucial 1-0 win over Germany at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday. The Bayern Munich defender put forth a solid performance against the bulk of his Bayern teammates on Die Mannschaft and he is relishing the chance to play in front of a 100% capacity at the Puskas Arena vs. Hungary this weekend.

Reminiscing on the sequence that gave France the only and winning goal, Hernandez described his efforts in the play (FCBayern.com). “I just wanted to play the ball hard inside to Kylian Mbappé. That’s how we practiced it in training. In the end it was an own goal. But it still paid off,” he explained.

Hungary’s Group F opener against Portugal was played against a capacity crowd of 60,000 at the Puskas arena, as Budapest is one of the only host cities in the Euros to allow 100% capacity. They shone well for themselves against Portugal, but a late second half surge led by Cristiano Ronaldo’s brace saw them lose 3-0.

Hernandez is raring to go in front of a packed Puskas Arena, but he admitted it’s something everyone in the French squad will have to get used to. For their clubs, the majority have not played in front of a full venue since before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. “It’s been a long time since we played in a full stadium. We’ll have to get used to it again,” Hernandez said.

They kickoff before Germany vs. Portugal, so if France is able to get a positive result vs. Hungary, they will be in pole position in Group F, all but securing their advancement to the knockout stages. With how well he performed against Germany, it’s difficult to see Didier Deschamps leaving Hernandez out of the starting lineup against Hungary.

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