France star Kylian Mbappé was pinching himself after the 1-0 win over Belgium clinched Les Bleus a place in the final; coach Didier Deschamps hailed his side’s pragmatism in a tough match against an imposing Red Devils side.
Tuesday, July 10 2018
FIFA World Cup semi-final
Saint Petersburg Stadium, Saint Petersburg
France 1 – 0 Belgium 
Kylian Mbappé (France striker): “This is unbelievable. It’s all you could dream of in this lifetime, a future lifetime… it’s everything. I don’t really have the words, it’s extraordinary. Even in my wildest dreams – and I’m a pretty wild dreamer – I would never have imagined this. Everyone’s proud of us. We still have another very important step to go but we’re nonetheless very proud of what we’ve accomplished so far. The coach was happy with our performance. We all hugged and [FFF president Noël] Le Graët came in to see us, as did President [of France Emmanuel] Macron. Everyone’s behind us; we’re all together. All the people of France are there, the Arc de Triomphe was swarming with people… it’s incredible!”
Didier Deschamps (France coach): “Set pieces are one of Belgium’s strengths; they’re a very athletic side and they have eight players who are 1m90 or taller. The fact that we resisted and then made the difference from a set piece is very strong. You have to be pragmatic and realistic. Belgium controlled longer stretches of the match than we did. But we hit them hard at times and, with a bit more precision, we could have hurt them even more. [On the scenes of wild jubilation in France] I’ve seen the images. It brings back some nice memories, but that was after we won the tournament. Tonight, we earned a place in the final. We secured the immense privilege of a place in the World Cup final. Two years ago [in the final of Euro 2016] it was very painful. We need to savour the moment because it’s no small thing to make it to the final two years after we reached the final of the Euros. We have the privilege of giving the French people something to smile about. It hasn’t really sunk in yet; we’ve been inundated with messages. We’ll look at them all after Sunday [the final]. We’ll do everything we can to make sure that there will be even more to smile about.”
Roberto Martinez (Belgium coach): “It was a very tight match. We had a better tempo as the second half started, and that’s when we conceded from a corner. The difference between victory and defeat played out in this moment. France wanted to hit us on the counter with the speed of [Antoine] Griezmann and [Kylian] Mbappé, but we controlled this aspect well. We had the ball a lot, and must tip our hats to the French defence. We lacked a certain spark in front of goal and [France ‘keeper Hugo] Lloris made the saves. In the end, the difference was about having a bit of luck in both penalty areas, but I’m proud of the lads, who gave their all right up to the final whistle. I didn’t think that France dominated the match or proved tougher mentally. The first goal was always going to be fatal, and it happened from a corner. We have to accept the result, congratulate France and wish them all the best for the final.”
Be the first to comment