The French press hails veterans Antoine Griezmann, Olivier Giroud and Hugo Lloris

The French press hailed their national side after surging through a tough test in England in the quarter-finals to set up a winnable semi-final with Morocco.

Goals from Aurélien Tchouameni and Olivier Giroud, separated by a penalty equalizer from Harry Kane, gave Didier Deschamps’ side a famous victory and put them on course to retain their new European Cup crown. world.

With Kylian Mbappe having received most of the attention in the build-up to the game, it was actually the more experienced French stars who stole the show. Antoine Griezmann dominated the midfield for long stretches while Giroud scored the winning goal.

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This was picked up by the French press.

‘Hugo Lloris, Antoine Griezmann and Olivier Giroud. These three names will forever remain in the history of the France team,” writes Le Figaro.

“Saturday evening, all three of them allowed the Blues to validate their ticket for the semi-final of the World Cup.

“A performance never achieved for a defending champion since Brazil in 1998. Crazy. Above all, this type of exploit should not be trivialized. And realize the weight of this trio in the mythology of the selection.’

The publication paid special tribute to England, writing: “For a tense, indecisive and exhilarating match, which sometimes turns into a boxing match, it takes two teams on the field.

‘This cliché was verified on Saturday evening thanks to the performance of the Three Lions. Solid, powerful, sturdy and equipped with weapons of mass destruction on the coasts, like a twirling Saka, the English posed great difficulties to Deschamps’ men, never as troubled (in the tournament) as in this quarter-final since their arrival in Qatar. .’

L’Equipe, France’s main national sports newspaper, hailed the team – awarding coach Didier Deschamps a score of seven out of ten for his tactical decisions. Hugo Lloris, the team’s captain and goalkeeper, was the highest rated player having scored an eight out of ten.

However, they chose to focus on Antoine Griezmann’s performance.

The Atletico Madrid player showed a consummate midfielder as his two assists were crucial in leading France to victory.

“With each outing, the Atletico player adds a new layer to his defensive palette, they write.

“We saw him hinder the first recovery against Denmark and multiply the opposing counters, going back and forth between the central circle and his surface against Poland to help his defender; but against the Three Lions, he also covered the back of his flank to respond to opposing projections.

And this, without losing a lot of lucidity in the use of the ball. He even offered himself the luxury of adding two assists to his list, the last of which, on a wonderful cross to Giroud.

“The greatness of ‘Grizou’ is there: succeeding in weighing on the duration of the meeting through his tactical role and his involvement, but also appearing at key moments to tip the scales.”

Meanwhile, Le Parisien chose to air a feature on Mbappe despite his – apparently – rather innocuous performance on the left against Kyle Walker.

“Kylian Mbappe, a very discreet hero”, wrote their title.

“After being decisive in all the matches he started in this World Cup, the crack of the Blues was less visible against the Three Lions who watched him like milk on fire”, first followed the grandstand.