Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud hailed France's never-say-die attitude after a last-gasp 2-0 win over Albania on Wednesday sent the hosts into the last 16 of Euro 2016.
Giroud missed a few real chances for Les Bleus, notably hitting the base of the upright with a second-half header at a packed Stade Velodrome in Marseille where second-half substitute Antoine Griezmann broke the deadlock in the 90th minute.
It ended a long and arduous search for the match opener, but only six minutes later West Ham United midfielder Dmitri Payet hit his second of the competition to seal a precious win for Didier Deschamps' men.
As Balkan minnows Albania suffered their second consecutive defeat, France look ahead to their final Group A game against Switzerland with a clean sweep of victories in mind.
Giroud hopes any eventual goals in their final group fixture come earlier, but said: “We kept on wearing them down and in the end they cracked, it’s great to know that we have a tough mentality and that we’re willing to go right to the end to get the goals.
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“We all want to surpass ourselves in this competition in front of our fans and the whole of France.
“Maybe that little bit of extra spirit made the difference for us tonight. Now, we’re looking to finish top of the group, although the games we have coming up will be difficult including the one against the Swiss.”
Deschamps replaced Giroud with former Marseille favourite (and current Mexico-based) Andre-Pierre Gignac with 13 minutes remaining, but it was Atletico Madrid striker Griezmann who broke the deadlock when he rose to meet Adil Rami's cross to beat Lazio 'keeper Etrit Berisha.
It broke Albania’s resolve and six minutes later Payet claimed his second of the competition with a fine curling strike that beat Berisha at his far post.
Although he welcomed the win, Giroud said France knew they were in for a tough game.
“We should have played a lot higher up the pitch and stopped them moving up,” he said of the team’s first-half performance.
“We could also have added a bit of life to our game... thankfully we corrected things in the second half, when we created even more chances.
“It was the kind of match we expected, although it would have helped us a lot if we’d opened the scoring early on. When you do that, it makes things much easier.”
Giroud’s coach Didier Deschamps sounded a relieved note:
“This is becoming a bit of a habit, I’d prefer us to break the deadlock a bit earlier.
“Until the final whistle is blown there is still a chance to win the game, especially against teams who you have to wear down.”
However, two leave-it-late wins left doubts about whether Deschamps’ side can repeat the feats of French sides past at Euro 84 and the 1998 World Cup by winning on home soil.
Deschamps surprisingly left Juventus star Paul Pogba and Griezmann on the bench in the only two changes from the game against Romania.
France only kicked into gear with Pogba and Griezmann reunited with the mercurial Payet after the break.
“We needed a win to qualify, and it’s done,” Griezmann told French television.
“The coach had told me that I would be a substitute. I knew it and I wanted to do what I had to do once I got on.”
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