Cedric Hunter
There remains a French club in the European Football Cup. Nice defeated Sheriff Tiraspol and secured their place in the Europa League Conference quarter-finals. Les Aiglons won 3-1 against the Moldovan club. An important success both for the club and for French football.
It is the last French club in the European Football Cup. Nice qualified this Thursday against Sheriff Tiraspol in the quarter-finals of the Europa League Conference – the latest competition on the Old Continent. After its 1-0 success in the first leg in Moldova, the Aiglons did it again by winning 3-1 at the Allianz Riviera in front of 23,000 spectators.
To find Nice in the quarter-finals of a European competition, you have to go back to 1960: that is to say the wait. But for all that, there is no euphoria in the voice of Jean-Clair Todibo. “When you aim to go as far as possible in a competition like this, you shouldn’t stop on this kind of thing,” the Nice defender told Europe 1. “We have a story to write. Now we have to do it the best we can and focus on the next matches.”
Objective ? Go far”
And if Nice projects itself on the championship, French football looks in the rear view mirror. His 5th place in the UEFA index is threatened by the Netherlands. The Aiglons therefore carry the hopes of the French, even if Julien Sablé, the assistant coach, rejects this additional weight. “We are not going to put additional pressure on ourselves,” he said. “If we go far, all of French football will be happy. We have enough pressure.”
Because Nice, 7th in the Ligue 1 standings, would not yet qualify for the European Cup next season. This is the irony of history for the Riviera, who are now waiting to know the name of their next opponent. The draw will take place at 2 p.m.