Morocco fans celebrate in Antwerp after qualifying for the 2022 World Cup semi-finals (Twitter)
The French national team tonight (Saturday) continued its title defense campaign by qualifying for the semi-finals of the World Cup with a dramatic 1:2 victory over England in the quarter-finals.
The Tricolors were not looking good, but Olivier Giroud's goal in the 78th minute decided the game, when six minutes later Harry Kane kicked a bad penalty into the stands and missed an opportunity to send the game into extra time.
In the French media they celebrated: "Kane, we love you"
In France they mainly praised the captain Hugo Lloris, who became the sole appearance record of all time with his 143rd game and excelled after in England in recent days he was defined as the "weakest link".
Tricolor now has four days to prepare for the semi-final against Morocco which will be on Wednesday at 21:00.
Summary of France's 1:2 victory over England in the World Cup quarterfinals courtesy of Kaan 11 - the official broadcaster of the 2022 World Cup. Live broadcasts, recaps, statistics and more await you on Kaan's World Cup page
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So who is the weak link?
Hugo Lloris celebrates with his coach Didier Deschamps (Photo: Reuters)
The responses
Coach
Didier Deschamps
was proud: "It's wonderful, a great victory. We met a very good English team and we knew how to face them and react well. It's wonderful to see these players reach the last four again. We want to seize the moment, at least until Wednesday. This mentality, this mindset . The heart of the boys and their courage brought the achievement. We will prepare for Morocco in the utmost seriousness, it is an opponent that deserves recognition. For me, it is not a surprise, we will take it very seriously."
Olivier Giroud
, scorer of the winning goal: "It's exceptional! We worked well defensively after we took the lead, it reminded me of the semi-final against Belgium in 2018. Unfortunately the penalty came, but we knew how to come to our senses. It was a big game, we were aware to the potential of this English generation. We played a solid game, we fought for each other. I'm super proud of the team."
Aurelian Tshuamani
, the scorer of the first goal: "We are gaining momentum, we need to continue like this. A team is being formed here. We feel good and need to continue. We suffered tonight, but this is the World Cup. We met an excellent team and we managed to beat them, so we are very happy. It will be a nice semi-final against Morocco , we know the history of both countries. We will prepare for this game, try to win and then see if we can win the title again."
About Lloris he said: "In England they claimed he was the weak link? Nonsense. They always talk about it in the newspapers, he answered them on the pitch."
Defender
Jules Conde
: "It's a dream moment. It was a crazy game with twists and turns. That's what we like. A lot was on the line, but we were united and gave everything to reach the semi-finals. Against such a good England, you need extra soul and a bit of luck, with this sour penalty . It's a victory in pain, and it's much more beautiful that way. This is where we wanted to be. We'll rest well and prepare for Morocco, she knocked out big teams. Obviously it won't be easy, it's an opponent that gives all their heart."
Celebrations in Paris
This is Kylian Mbappe's reaction to Kane's missed penalty
Ashraf Hakimi is ready to meet his good friend Mbappe
the numbers
* France is the first world champion made in Europe to reach the semi-finals since Germany did it in 1958.
The last champion was Brazil in 1998, then they lost to the French in the final.
* France has never lost a game in the World Cup in which they led at halftime: they won 25 and ended in a draw once.
* France has passed the semi-finals the last three times (wins in 1998 and 2018, loss in the 2006 final) after losing their first three times at this stage: 1958, 1982 and 1986).
* France is the first ever to win a game in the World Cup despite two penalties being whistled for their duty.
* Antoine Griezmann is the first Frenchman to score twice in a game in the deciding stages of the World Cup, since Dominic Rossetto who did it against Italy in 1986.
* Griezmann also became France's sole record for assists with 28, leaving behind Thierry Henry, whom Olivier Giroud also dispossessed during the tournament of the historic top scorer title.
* Kylian Mbappe started for France in 10 matches in the World Cup, and all of them ended in victory.
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Tags
French national team
World Cup 2022
Didier Deschamps