'Spirit of 2018': France driven by 'collective force' as old guard lead way

Didier Deschamps made only one late substitution as France beat England 2-1 in a nerve-racking World Cup quarterfinal on Saturday, but the defending champions have been carried over the line by an unshakeable collective strength in the squad.

Les Bleus' main weakness was their lack of solutions from the bench and Deschamps only sent Kingsley Coman in for Ousmane Dembele in the 79th minute just after Olivier Giroud headed home what turned out to be the winner at Al Bayt Stadium.

It was just enough as England captain Harry Kane missed an 84th-minute penalty that would have made it 2-2 and Marcus Rashford's last-gasp free-kick went just over, but Giroud insisted the France players drew energy from the substitutes.

“We worked all together. The guys on the bench pushed us so much,” the 36-year-old France record scorer said.

“It reminds me of the spirit of 2018. I hope we'll go as far as possible because this squad deserve beautiful things,” he added, in a reference to their triumphant Russia campaign, when they basked in collective joy throughout the tournament.

“We've had a visit from the sports minister, the federation president, but also from [1998 World Cup winner] Lilian Thuram and [2006 World Cup runner-up] Claude Makelele. It was beautiful to see all these faces full of joy, those generations celebrating together.”

Deschamps, who won the World Cup as France captain in 1998 and as coach in 2018, insisted the excellent atmosphere within the French camp was what helped them to keep their composure when they were being overwhelmed by a “superb England team”.

“We have a lot of qualities but also some great mental strength and experience,” the coach said. “I also have young players but there is a collective force that drives the whole group.

“In important games like tonight's, that's what makes the difference.”

France are on course to become the first team to retain their title since Brazil in 1962, but Deschamps refused to think past Wednesday's semifinal against surprise package Morocco, who are the first African team ever to reach the last four.

“We're in the semis, we're not picturing ourselves lifting the trophy.

“There's other steps and it starts on Wednesday. Let's be happy with what we've done tonight even if it's not enough. At least we broke the [defending champions'] curse.”

The last four world champions from Europe failed to even get past the group stage at the next World Cup.

Morocco went through to the semifinals by beating Portugal 1-0 earlier on Saturday and will prove a tough nut to crack, having conceded only one goal in the tournament.

“What this team have achieved against Belgium, Croatia, Spain, Portugal, I can only say bravo — to the players but also the coach [Walid Regragui], the staff,” Deschamps said.

“It's not a surprise any more to see them here. They didn't steal their results. Always give credit to the team who win and qualify.” 

As Kylian Mbappé was being muzzled by the England defence, it was France's old guard who took the defending champions through on Saturday.

Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, midfielder Antoine Griezmann and Giroud were influential in a thrilling match, playing their roles close to perfection to see off an England team who were left thinking they deserved better.

Lloris, identified as the weak link by British media, pulled off superb saves to deny Tottenham Hotspur teammate Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham either side of the interval.

The 35-year-old Lloris was celebrating a record 143rd cap and just like in 2018, he showed he was reliable in the big moments.

Against one of the top midfields in the tournament, France needed Griezmann to find the right balance between defence and attack and the Atletico Madrid player excelled.

His relentless harassment broke England's fast transitions in the first half and his calm under pressure gave Les Bleus much-needed breathing space at times.

Griezmann capped his performance with two assists, the first for Aurelien Tchouameni's first-half thunderbolt, and the second for Giroud's 78th-minute winner.

Griezmann has now set up 28 France goals, more than any other player, on his record 72nd consecutive appearance.

The second goal came as Marc Thuram was about to replace Giroud, but he was left to jump into Deschamps's arms to celebrate his teammate's winning header.

Giroud, who owes his place in the starting line-up to Karim Benzema being ruled out injured before the tournament, seized his chance, scoring four goals in Qatar after failing to manage a shot on target in Russia four years ago and being relegated to the bench at the European Championship.

Mbappé had stolen the limelight from him in France's 3-1 win over Poland, adding a spectacular late double to Giroud's opener, but on Saturday the 23-year-old happily took a back seat and was seen slapping his team mate's face in sheer excitement after the decisive goal.

It was, possibly, the biggest takeaway from France's victory. They can win when Mbappé does not shine or score, and his reaction to Giroud's goal proved Deschamps's point when he said he did not need to manage the Paris St-Germain forward's ego.

Reuters

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