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Antoine Griezmann grabs the speakers, Olivier Giroud strips to slide… and old friends reunite: inside the jubilant celebrations in France’s locker room after reaching yet another World Cup final
Players from France have been pictured celebrating wildly after sealing a place in the 2022 World Cup final against Argentina on Sunday.
Les Bleus secured their place in the World Cup final against Argentina on Sunday with a 2-0 win over Morocco on Wednesday night, thanks to goals from Theo Hernandez and Randal Kolo Muani.
Didier Deschamps’ team will now have a chance to defend their title after also winning the 2018 World Cup in Russia, meaning they could become the first to defend the trophy since Brazil in 1962.
Players from France have been photographed celebrating after sealing a place in the World Cup final.
Antoine Griezmann (in the photo) grabbed the loudspeaker and walked through the locker room
Real Madrid midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni (pictured) appeared to be thrown on the table
The France players were clearly delighted with their achievement of reaching the final in Qatar, as images of huge celebrations inside the dressing rooms have since surfaced since Wednesday night.
Veteran striker Olivier Giroud stripped down to slide around the dressing room, including the large center table, while Antoine Griezmann grabbed the speakerphone and wandered around raising it high above his head.
Real Madrid midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni smiled as he appeared to be thrown across the table in celebrations.
Veteran striker Giroud began the celebration by dancing in the midst of his teammates
Griezmann slid across the table as the France players wildly celebrated their victory.
Raphael Varane, Giroud, Blaise Matuidi and Marcus Thuram were caught dancing together
Old friends also gathered inside the France locker room as the team celebrated wildly.
Other stars were captured sliding across the table in the middle as most of the team danced around the locker room, including goalscorer Marcus Thuram.
Even some former France international stars such as Blaise Matuidi joined the party, while defenders Jules Kounde and Ibrahima Konate missed the celebrations after being called up for a post-match drug test.
“We can’t even celebrate,” Reds center Konate quipped as he filmed his teammate behind the scenes. “It sucks,” Kounde replied.
The party didn’t stop just in the locker room, as the players also celebrated when they returned to their base camp later in the evening with hotel staff and France fans.
The team was filmed jumping, dancing, and singing the song ‘Free from Desire’ upon their return.
Benjamin Pavard, among others, were splashing water during the chant at his hotel.
Madrid ace Tchouameni was also full of praise for his teammates after overcoming the physical challenge of Morocco to reach the final.
He said L’Equipe: ‘It’s a World Cup semifinal. There are highlights and weak moments. We knew we were going to play against a great team.
“But we had a game plan and we knew that in our raids and counterattacks, we could put them in trouble. That’s what we were able to do.
“We knew that, at some point, they would have much stronger times than us. But that is the truth of a party. We were able to go back round and win this game.’
Real Madrid midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni (pictured) praised his teammates
The 22-year-old also praised Griezmann for his excellent performances during the World Cup, including the victory in Morocco.
He is a top player. He is showing in this World Cup all the quality he has. We are super happy for him.
The former Monaco player knows that Argentina will be a completely different test for France with Lionel Messi among many other attacking threats in his line-up.
‘We will have to defend well. We will have to show all our qualities. It is a World Cup final, there is Messi but there is also a lot of quality on the side.
‘We will have to be ready, well aware of the opportunity we have to write history. We’ll see what happens.’