“We’re in the quarters, they’re going home unfortunately, good habits!” Didier Deschamps beaming after France’s victory against Belgium

France have qualified for the quarter-finals of the Euros after defeating Belgium, this Monday at Düsseldorf, by the finest of margins in the RO16 game. PSG striker Randal Kolo Muani (25) saw his winning effort deflected in by RSC Anderlecht centre-back Jan Vertonghen (37) in the dying minutes. Les Bleus are through to the quarter-finals without scoring a single goal from open play by one of their own players. France head coach Didier Deschamps did not care about it as he reflected on his side’s win.

“It’s beautiful! We delivered a solid game“, beamed Didier Deschamps to TF1 seconds after the final whistle. “It was tight. We had more possession and opportunities.” Les Bleus had indeed many clear-cut goalscoring opportunities but they mostly made a hash of it. On the contrary, Belgium had fewer chances, but they were the most dangerous ones, with Mike Maignan called into action several times.

France will need to rest and regroup to get into shape for Friday’s quarter-finals at Hamburg, against either Slovenia or Portugal. Still, Didier Deschamps only wanted to enjoy France’s narrow win for now. “We did a lot of good things. We have to enjoy it, not belittle it. We’re in the quarters, they’re going home unfortunately, good habits!”, concluded a cheeky Deschamps.

GFFN | Bastien Cheval