Laurent Koscielny and Samuel Umtiti made so many clearing headers they might be sore for days, but they and Hugo Lloris commanded the penalty area all night, not giving Germany an inch of space once the ball came into the box.
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France will play Portugal in the final on Sunday. “Today we were better than the French but for the goals and result”.
World champion Germany dominated the match in terms of possession but its lack of a deadly finisher cost them and razor-sharp Griezmann, whose double took his tournament-leading tally to six, was the difference.
“I’m very proud to be part of this team”, Lloris said.
“It was a key moment to score the first goal, the penalty changed the game because Germany had created some chances in the first half but weren’t able to score”. “Just because you won another tournament does not mean you lose you hunger to win another one and that is a good sign”.
On the other side of the footballing fence, winning manager Didier Deschamps said that the French deserved their win over “best team in the world” Germany.
Enthusiasm around the nation is set to reach fever pitch over the course of this weekend but Deschamps believes his players will handle the occasion, suggesting they learnt from some fitful earlier performances during the group stages.
“We were the better team”.
In November, Paris was the target of terrorist attacks which killed 130 people, including at the Stade de France where Sunday night’s final against Portugal will be played, and the country continues to be in a state of emergency.
Observers questioned whether he should select inexperienced Samuel Umtiti in the center of defense against World Cup victor Germany.
The Germany defense had not conceded from open play all tournament, but they fell apart for Griezmann’s second goal in the 72nd minute.
“It’s a great emotion, we had to suffer but never gave up and that’s great for me, personally”.
“You can’t simply buy time and experience, but [against Portugal] we have the chance to make history within French football”.
Les Bleus head into the final buoyed by Thursday’s 2-0 semifinal win against world champions Germany in Marseille.
“I have to stress that it’s a victory for everyone, the whole staff at our training base including the players who’ve been working really hard during training even though they don’t get to play a lot”. The French have won the previous three, all in semi-finals (Euro1984, Euro 2000, World Cup 2006). We have great energy in this side, they showed great effort – also in training in Evian – and in the games they’ve proved their great team spirit.
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What’s more, if the favourites fail to win the game in normal time then anyone who took up the offer will get their stake back as a free bet courtesy of the online bookmaker.
