体坛英语新闻：Didier Deschamps lauds France's progression to World Cup knockout stage

YEKATERINBURG, Russia, June 21 (Xinhua) -- France head coach Didier Deschamps on Thursday night said he was very satisfied that his team had progressed to the knockout stage in the World Cup.

A victory against Peru here in Yekaterinburg sent France to top Group C with six points and ensured Les Bleus to seal a position on the list of last 16.

"We are in the knockout stages so we are very satisfied," the France coach said in the post-match press conference.

Although there were a lot of criticisms on France's performance in the second half, Deschamps emphasized that what really matters was the victory.

"We have won and we have qualified. We have shown beautiful things in the first half and have not conceded goals. We did what was necessary to obtain the second victory," he said.

"In the second half, we suffered a little more because we didn't control the ball enough. We had to defend a lot and we did it with a lot of solidarity," he added.

Deschamps also praised Kylian Mbappe for his goal in the match, which made the 19-year-old player the youngest French scorer ever in the World Cup.

France will fight against Denmark, who are second in the group after drawing 1-1 with Australia earlier, in the game on June 26 at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium.

Regarding the next game, the 49-year-old coach said France will try to win the match and secure the first place in the group.