Qatar World Cup 2022: Didier Deschamps, Olivier Giroud elated as France knocks out England to enter semis

Two-time defending champion France came up with a spirited performance to tame former champion England 2-1 in the 2022 FIFA World Cup quarterfinal in Qatar. Played at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor on Saturday, Aurélien Tchouaméni (17) and Olivier Giroud (78) scored twice to get the job done for Les Blues. At the same time, Harry Kane squandered a penalty despite converting the initial one, breaking the hearts of a million English fans. In the meantime, the French were elated by their performance, while Giroud and head coach Didier Deschamps expressed their delight at the performance as they are headed into the semis, where they would face Morocco.

Glorifying the performance of his boys, Deschamps spoke, “It’s fabulous. It was a big game. 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 wish time could stop for a while. But 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.”

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On the other hand, Giroud added, “This goal tonight, the 53rd, is even better [than equalling Thierry Henry]. I should have hit harder and scored just before I had a chance. I might get another chance, and when it came to me, it was an unbelievable feeling to score. You need to keep believing.”

“[Antoine Griezmann] gave me a super ball. It’s so good for the team. It’s awesome. We knew the potential of this young England team. They have everything, but we played a solid game and tried to hurt them on the break. We went for it with all our mental strength,” concluded Giroud, reports 90min.