France coach Didier Deschamps does not want the big-match build-up to consume his players ahead of the Euro 2016 opener against Romania.
Deschamps' men will play their first competitive fixture for almost two years before an expectant home crowd at the Stade de France on Friday.
"I'm not really looking at 1998. It was so long ago," said the veteran of 103 caps. "I wasn't in the same uniform, I don't have the same role.
"Each player experiences these matches in a different fashion. What's important is you mustn't focus too early and try to play the game before it actually begins.
"Everything that comes before mustn't influence our mindset as we go out on the field tomorrow night.
"You need to just have these butterflies in your stomach before an important game because we haven't achieved anything yet.
"We need to get into that mindset without looking at any permutations - without pressure, without feeling fragility.
"We mustn't make a mountain out of a molehill. We need to distance ourselves from [the hype]. It's not going to affect our preparations. We've been preparing for two years for Friday, June 10."
"France haven't played any competitive matches for two years now," Deschamps said. "Once again we are going to experience that again tomorrow.
"It isn't the same playing staff now as two years ago so to talk about what our strengths were then and now, to compare them is difficult.
"I think I have a side with very exciting attacking potential. Clearly in a big competition you need to be able to strike the right balance and defend well.
"Throughout our recent friendly matches we focused on having an effective defensive block."
