France players expect emotional evening at national stadium

PARIS – France's players expect an emotional evening when they return to the Stade de France for the first time since the Nov. 13 bombings at the national stadium.

France continues its warm-up for the European Championship against Russia on Tuesday, less than five months after 130 were killed on a night of attacks in Paris. Suicide bombers blew themselves up that evening outside the stadium during France's friendly against Germany.

"We are human beings before being sportsmen," Arsenal and France striker Olivier Giroud said. "It will obviously affect us to go there."

The friendly match against Russia will be the first soccer match at the Stade de France since the attacks. France has played three Six Nations rugby matches there without incidents amid strengthened security.