France coach Didier Deschamps admitted his side was a “bit lucky” to beat England in their World Cup quarterfinal on Saturday at Al Bayt Stadium in Qatar.
But lucky or not, defending champions France rode an Olivier Giroud winner and saw England captain Harry Kane miss a late penalty to seal a 2-1 win and book a spot in the semifinals against Morocco on Wednesday.
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“It’s fabulous, it was a big game,” Deschamps said. “We played a superb England team who are strong technically and physically.
“It’s brilliant for the players to be in the last four again. In these moments you kind of wish time could stop for a while.
“But tonight we’re going to enjoy it. We got a bit lucky although we gave away two penalties. We kept our lead with our hearts and our guts.”
Kane equalised with a penalty in the 54th minute to cancel out Aurelien Tchouameni‘s opener for France, but the Tottenham Hotspur star missed a second penalty half an hour later, sailing his attempt over the bar.
Giroud, who passed Thierry Henry to become France’s all-time top goalscorer earlier in the tournament, said Les Bleus had had to be at their best to beat England.
