Olivier Giroud continued his magnificent World Cup by scoring France's late winner in their quarter-final against England on Saturday and admitted that the holders' battling performance in adversity evoked the spirit of their triumphant 2018 run.

France are now just two games away from becoming the first team in 60 years to retain the trophy after Giroud's fourth goal of the tournament sunk an impressive England side in a titanic battle at Al Bayt Stadium.

The holders took the lead through Aurelien Tchouameni but were pegged back early in the second half and were on the ropes for long spells before Giroud headed in the decisive goal in the 78th minute to seal a 2-1 victory.

France had considerably less possession, half as many attempts on goal and got lucky late on as Harry Kane –- having earlier scored from the spot -– blazed an 84th-minute penalty over the bar.

And Giroud later said the game brought back memories of his team's semi-final in Russia four years ago, when they edged out Belgium 1-0 in Saint-Petersburg before going on to beat Croatia and lift the trophy.

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