Deschamps hails 'impressive' England and admits France needed 'a bit of luck' to win

France boss Didier Deschamps admitted 'sometimes you need a bit of luck' after the defending champions beat England to reach the World Cup semi-finals.

Four years after lifting the trophy in Moscow, the Blues offered themselves a chance for a second consecutive final against Morocco on Wednesday evening.

France secured their return to the Al Bayt Stadium for the semi-final after Harry Kane scored a penalty and missed another in a 2-1 win over Gareth Southgate's side.

Aurélien Tchouameni's excellent strike was canceled out by the English skipper, before Giroud netted his 53rd international goal and Kane fired a late kick.

"England had a very good team," said France boss Deschamps. "What they showed in terms of technical ability, intensity, even though we fought well, was impressive.

“I regret that we gave them a penalty and then another one that they missed, but I also thank my team. We also showed very good things and we can still be dangerous.

"We have great quality and very impressive mental strength but, yes, we have experience. But to a certain extent, the English team also has experience.

"They have a few young players in their squad, but they are players who play for some of the best clubs in Europe, so we could see that they were a good team from the start of this tournament.

"In these very important games it always comes down to very small details and luckily tonight everything went well and we did what we could to make sure we went all the way and win the game. Sometimes you need a little luck."

Head coach Deschamps' contract is due to expire after the World Cup in Qatar, where French Football Federation president Noël Le Graet had set his sights on reaching the semi-finals.

The 54-year-old has been in charge of Les Bleus since 2012 and has not committed to his future as attention turns to Morocco.

"Well, I'll be manager for the semi-final, you know that, and then we'll see," said Deschamps. "That's it.

"I don't know everything in advance, of course, but we'll tackle this problem when it arises.

"It's great to do what the president asked me to do and it's great for me to know he's happy with it, but I'm sure there's a lot of other people happy and delighted too.

"So let's savor this victory. Just four years after our last World Cup victory, we are now in the last four and let's focus on Wednesday's match. I really can't think of anything else for the time."

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