MARSEILLE, France (AP) Coach Didier Deschamps has challenged his players to write themselves into the history of French football on Thursday by beating Germany in their European Championship semifinal.
France has not won a trophy since Euro 2000 and is bidding to reach the final of a major competition for the first time in a decade.
''We have a new page to write. The players can write it,'' Deschamps said Wednesday at a pre-match news conference. ''It's blank now. We have to fill it tomorrow. ''
Germany has reached at least the semifinals in the past five tournaments, losing the Euro 2008 final and winning the 2014 World Cup.