By 
Olivier Giroud’s late header after Aurelien Tchouameni’s first goal gave France a 2-1 victory over England on Saturday, sending France into a World Cup semifinal against Morocco. Harry Kane’s late penalty attempt went over the crossbar.
In the tournament that France won four years ago, Giroud failed to manage a single shot on goal. This time around, however, he has four goals and has broken his nation’s record for goals scored.
France is currently two wins away from becoming the third team to win the trophy in its history after Brazil in 1962 and Italy in 1938, and one win away from becoming the first back-to-back finalists since Brazil in 2002.
Didier Deschamps, their manager, who also led them to their second World Cup victory four years ago and their first victory in 1998, called the victory “fabulous.”
“It was a big game, we played a superb England team who are strong technically and physically,” he said
“It’s brilliant for the players to be in the last four again. We got a bit lucky although we gave away two penalties but we kept our lead with our hearts and our guts.”
The first major tournament knockout game between the longtime rivals in sports maintained the suspense and drama that made the quarterfinal weekend so extraordinary, so France really had to work hard for their victory.
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