France coach Deschamps explains hooking Giroud and Dembele |

France coach Didier Deschamps says the first-half substitutions of Olivier Giroud and Ousmane Dembele were tactical after their World Cup final defeat to Argentina.

Speaking to TF1 after the defeat on penalties, with France able to claw it back to 2-2 and then 3-3 in extra time, Deschamps was asked about the reasons behind those changes.

“If we had been 3-0 down, we couldn’t have complained,” said Deschamps.

“We didn’t do the right things for an hour, but then with a lot of courage, energy and quality, we pushed Argentina to the limit.

“If I made those changes so early, it’s because I was not satisfied and I felt convinced we could do better. That doesn’t mean the players who went off were more guilty than the others.”