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[caption id="attachment_15954" align="alignnone" width="580"] Deshchamps bank on team game against Republic of Ireland. File Pic[/caption] Internet Desk: France will be looking to maintain their winning run at the Stade de Lyon when they take on Republic of Ireland on Sunday (26 June). They have not lost in Lyon since 1968, which was against Spain in their first ever match in the French city. The hosts are one of the favourites to progress to the last eight and anything less than a semi-final appearance will be deemed a failure by national manager Didier Deschamps. The French qualified at the top of Group A but were not at their best in all the clashes, they won two of their three games, but have looked vulnerable in defence at times. Their recent record in knockout matches at the Euros is not the best having lost the last two and both times they succumbed to the eventual winners. In 2004 it was Greece, while in 2012 it was to Spain. The Republic of Ireland come into this game as underdogs and they prefer it that way as they can play without any pressure. They were poor in the group stages, but turned up when it mattered most to beat Italy in their final group game and snatch a place in the Round of 16. Martin O'Neill's team are a dangerous prospect for any team and France will be wary ahead of their meeting on Sunday. In 2009, French forward Thierry Henry admitted to handling the ball in the build up to France's winning goal in the World Cup qualifying clash which knocked the Irish out and the incident still rankles and will no doubt come up at some point before the game. France lead the head-to-head between the two nations 7-4 and their most recent clash was a 1-1 draw in Dublin in the qualifying round for the 2010 World Cup.