“He showed what kind of generous player he is tonight”, said France coach Didier Deschamps.
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World champions Germany dominated in terms of possession but their lack of a deadly finisher cost them and the razor-sharp Griezmann, whose double took his tournament-leading goal tally to six, was the difference.
The referee had no hesitation in awarding France a spot-kick and Griezmann calmly guided the ball past Manuel Neuer, who went the wrong way. And completed his brace 18 minutes from the final whistle, to send the hosts to the final.
France hosted the European Championship in 1984, as well as the World Cup in 1998.
“We’ve already written history”.
“It would be great to neutralise him and we need to also limit his influence”. Given that the two teams have had 5 draws between them at the tournament, it’s not unreasonable to think that the final could be going into extra time or penalties, and the draw is priced attractively at 11/5 (3.20).
“You see the way they have taken [themselves] from third place [in Group F] to the final. It’s something I’ve always dreamed of, to win with the national team”, the 31-year-old said.
“He’s (Griezmann) a great player and he proved that against Germany, he works very hard, along with Olivier Giroud from a defensive perspective he made us a very compact unit”, Deschamps was quoted as saying by goal.com after the win. I’m very proud as a coach and proud of my players – it’s not that I’m not happy personally but it’s mainly for the players. After several silent performances, Ronaldo surely stepped up in this crucial semi-finals game, fulfilling his role as captain.
France now turn their attention to Portugal, and though he stopped short of proclaiming his side as favourites, Deschamps did acknowledge France enter the final with plenty of momentum.
“Football is by no means an exact science, it comes down to very small margins, but once you’ve done everything, once you’ve given everything, people have no regrets and we’re really driven forwards by this mindset on a daily basis”.
“Of course, having played football it’s not quite the same between three and four recovery days but that’s the way the fixtures were published”.
“We haven’t only had easy games, Germany were and are still the best side”.
“In Euro 2012 and the 2010 World Cup, we were beaten by better teams”.
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Neuer added: “Nevertheless, we still had the chance to bounce back but simply couldn’t score. They believe in themselves and we believe in ourselves too”, explained Deschamps.
