Olivier Giroud insists the job is not done for France after the Euro 2016 hosts overcame Germany to reach the tournament final.
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Antoine Griezmann (L) of France celebrates after scoring with his teammate Paul Pogba during the Euro 2016 semifinal match between France and Germany in Marseille, France, July 7, 2016.
Deschamps said goalkeeper Hugo Lloris put in a “crucial” performance, but he reserved special praise for Griezmann, who fired fired France in front from the penalty spot in the closing seconds of a first half in which they had been under pressure.
‘The level at this European Championship was not what we had hoped for, ‘ Hummels said.
Schweinsteiger has so far won 120 caps for Germany, with 38 of those coming at a major worldwide tournament, which already represents a world record.
“It’s a semi-final, there weren’t any stupid moments or silly mistakes”.
But striker Giroud and his team-mates are not dwelling on the result as they seek to claim a third European Championship title on Sunday, having won their two previous finals in the event, in 1984 and 2000. “(When we went out) in 2012 or 2010, the sides were better than us, but today that wasn’t the case”.
Thanking the passionate fans in Marseille, who gave his side a bit extra when they were in difficulty, Deschamps said he hoped the win would give the French population something to cheer after a hard period.
“We all raised our game – everyone was great in this match”.
“I’ve always believed in my players”, said Deschamps.
“We’re into the final and there’s a trophy up for grabs. This is a great story, the players wrote history by knocking out Germany”, added Deschamps.
The Euro 2016 hosts began the game well and Griezmann showed his skill in the seventh minute to dance past three German defenders before hitting a low drive towards the bottom corner, but Manuel Neuer did well to get down and make the save. France will now face Cristiano Ronaldo-led Portugal in the mouth-watering summit clash at Stade de France on Sunday.
So, while fans descend down the rabbit hole to fantasy land, up here in the real world, it’s probably fair to say that Antoine Griezmann is going nowhere.
Germany came close to halving the deficit straight after the second goal, as youngster Kimmich curled an effort of the outside of the post from the edge of the French penalty area.
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“We had chances to come back”, Neuer said. We have continued to grow as a team in the last seven weeks and this togetherness, which made us strong in Brazil two years ago, has done the same again here in France.
