France and Liverpool centre-back Mamadou Sakho has insisted that there is a strong spirit inside the French camp ahead of their vital quarter-final against Germany on Friday night.

Sakho said that coach Didier Deschamps had worked on the team off the pitch which has translated to a strong unit on it, and the players now enjoy each other's company.

"We're a very young team with new players," Sakho told reporters. "We've instilled a new spirit into the team - off the pitch, first of all - and it reflects on the pitch.

"Everyone sits together at the dinner table, there's no difference. After the meal last night eight of us stayed at the table to talk about football and about life in general. It was brilliant."

France's game with Germany kicks off at 5pm.

Written by
Matt Domm