Deschamps explains what France's plan was to neuter Messi
The coach was delighted to beat Argentina and reach the last eight
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.
"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."
