XtraTime Web Desk: France football team head coach Didier Deschamps on Friday said it doesn’t matter to them that who would be in front of them in the semifinal of FIFA World Cup.
One time World Cup winner France beat Uruguay 2-0 in the quarterfinals at Nizhny Novgorod and reached the semifinal of the World Cup.
“As for the opponents, I don’t really have any preferences. What happens will happen. There were many strong teams in the group stage, things weren’t as easy as they seemed to be. But we grew during the game with Argentina,” Deschamps told reporters at the post-match press conference.
In the semi-final on July 10, France will face Brazil or Belgium in St. Petersburg.
The 2018 FIFA World Cup kicked off on June 14 and will continue until July 15, with the matches being played in 11 cities across Russia.
On the other hand France’s star forward Antoine Griezmann said he did not celebrate his goal against Uruguay in the World Cup quarter-final out of “respect” for the South American nation.
Instead of celebrating, Griezmann stood still as French players rushed to him, despite scoring the goal that helped secure his country’s first World Cup semi-final in 12 years.
“I didn’t celebrate that goal because when I started as a professional footballer I was supported by a Uruguayan, who showed me the good and the bad of football,” he said.
“Out of respect, I thought it was not appropriate to celebrate that goal.”