Spirit of 2018 alive as France show collective force

AL KHOR, Qatar : Didier Deschamps made only one late substitution as France beat England 2-1 in a nerve-racking World Cup quarter-final on Saturday, but the defending champions have been carried over the line by an unshakable collective strength in the squad.

Les Bleus' main weakness was their lack of solutions from the bench and Deschamps only sent Kingsley Coman in for Ousmane Dembele in the 79th minute just after Olivier Giroud headed home what turned out to be the winner at the Al Bayt stadium.

It was just enough as England captain Harry Kane missed an 84th minute penalty that would have made it 2-2 and Marcus Rashford's last-gasp free kick went just over, but Giroud insisted the France players drew energy from the substitutes.

"We worked all together. The guys on the bench pushed us so much," the 36-year-old France record scorer Giroud, who has now netted four goals in Qatar, told a news conference.

"It reminds me of the spirit of 2018. I hope we'll go as far as possible because this squad deserve beautiful things," he added, in a reference to their triumphant Russia campaign, when they basked in collective joy throughout the tournament.

"We've had a visit from the sports minister, the federation president, but also from (1998 World Cup winner) Lilian Thuram and (2006 World Cup runner-up) Claude Makelele. It was beautiful to see all these faces full of joy, those generations celebrating together."

Deschamps, who won the World Cup as France captain in 1998 and as coach in 2018, insisted the great atmosphere within the French camp was what helped them to keep their composure when they were being overwhelmed by a "superb England team".

"We have a lot of qualities, but also some great mental strength, and experience. I have