France have found a new hero in Antoine Griezmann and the striker has his eyes firmly set on lifting the Euro 2016 trophy after his two goals fired Les Bleus past Germany on Thursday and into the final.
Griezmann slammed home a first-half penalty, following a needless handball from Bastian Schweinsteiger, and then poked in the second after the break to secure the host nation’s first competitive win over Germany in 58 years.
The Atletico Madrid marksman tops the Euro 2016 scorers table with six goals but is now focused on getting his hands on the cup when they play Portugal in Paris tomorrow.
“This is the result of a group, and of a lot of hard work from the staff,” he said.
“Now we’re in the final and we want to lift that trophy. We are very happy but there is still one match left. We have to keep our feet on the ground and prepare for this final.”
France are seeking their first European title since beating Italy in the final in 2000, their last major tournament success.
Thierry Henry, their former striker and a veteran of that team, said Griezmann had given the country reason to dream again with his superb performances.
“I’m actually so emotional,” Henry said.
“The main man Antoine Griezmann, we all knew he had to play this kind of game. We again have a hero, a striker who can make us win tournaments.”
Germany dominated possession and spent most of the match in their opponents’ half but could not break through a resilient France defence.
Home coach Didier Deschamps denied it was a smash-and-grab victory.
“This is for the players, who deserve it. We played the best team in the world and we knocked them out. Yes, we suffered, but we never gave up,” he said.
“I always trusted my players. This is their reward, their victory.”
Deschamps, who won the European Championship as a player in 2000, be-moaned the calendar that gives his players one day less to recover than Portugal.
“Just because we are at home and beat Germany doesn’t give us extra powers. They believe in themselves and we believe in ourselves too,” explained Deschamps.
Thanking the passionate fans in Marseille, who gave his side a bit extra when they were in difficulty, Deschamps said he hoped the win would give the French population something to cheer after a difficult period.
The 2-0 win was the same as when the two sides met in Paris in November when Islamist militants struck at the Stade de France national stadium and other sites across Paris.
“It’s a great emotion, we had to suffer but never gave up and that’s great for me, personally. This is a great story, the players wrote history by knocking out Germany,” added Deschamps.