IN SPORT.ES
France coach Didier Deschamps steered his side into the last eight of the World Cup with a 4-3 win over Argentina on Saturday.
After the game, he was visibly relieved to have won a topsy-turvy game, with Argentina coming from a goal down to lead 2-1 early in the second half.
Two Kylian Mbappe goals and a wonderstrike from Benjamin Pavard swang the pendulum back in France's favour, though, with Sergio Aguero scoring a late consolation.
"It was a great game," Deschamps said. "Of course, there were mistakes. We could have simplified things a little more, but I am really happy.
"This is my job. If I’m the coach it’s because I want to live this, a fully sold out stadium, highly experienced teams. It was not easy. We were leading, then there was an equaliser, then they led 2-1, but we kept fighting. There was an excellent mentality.
"Since I’m responsible for everything, especially when it doesn’t go well, I’m very happy for [the players]. We’ve been practicing for weeks, months. We couldn’t miss it and we didn’t miss it."
On Argentina's decision to play Lionel Messi as a false nine, Deschamps added: "This is an option that was chosen by [Jorge] Sampaoli, different to what they done before, to give more freedom to Messi.
RELATED STORIES
"We knew this possibility might come up. Since [Ngolo] Kante was very close we had two possibilities: one to make sure he couldn’t receive the passes and when he did someone else to come and mark him. You have to be cautious and follow him closely."