Yokohama (Japan) (AFP)

"We come back every time when we thought we were on the plane": led by three times, France almost left Tokyo, but carried by its captain André-Pierre Gignac, she now dreams of a victory against the Japan Wednesday (1:30 p.m. French) to join the quarters.

"We have always believed in us, we did not want to return to France. Every time we were behind in the score, we wanted to score to win," said the former Marseillais on Monday after the stunning victory against the South Africans (4-3).

Gignac, the leader desired and designated by Sylvain Ripoll for this Olympic selection, performed three times to bring the Blues back to equality before Téji Savanier delivered his team in extra time (90 + 2).

Locker room man, experienced and technical leader, the presence of the 35-year-old striker is saving in a young group, very heterogeneous and without common experience.

During this crazy and hot evening of Saitama, Gignac, already author of the only French goal during the rout against Mexico (4-1), guided the revolt.

We saw him harangue his teammates, hasten to retrieve the ball at the back of the net after each goal to re-engage.

The power put into his equalizing penalty in the 86th minute symbolized his determination.

"I'm not surprised by Dede who is a huge player. As soon as there was a penalty, I knew he was going to score. And given the way he shot ...", said the goalkeeper with a smile. Paul Bernardoni after the game.

# photo1

"André-Pierre's second half is splendid. We know that to win matches and last in a tournament you need a great scorer," added Ripoll.

To continue the Olympic adventure, the Blues will still have to rely on their captain against Japan.

Against the host country, at the top of Group A with two victories, the Blues (3rd with 3 points) must win with two goals apart or hope for a misstep from the Mexicans (2nd) against the South Africans.

They will also have to settle the defensive "fragility" pointed out by Ripoll.

Like the disagreement between Clément Michelin and Paul Bernardoni on the first South African goal or the big difficulties against Mexico from Anthony Caci and Modibo Magnan, relegated to the bench on Monday.

"It's been two games in a row that we are 0-0 at halftime and after that it's Fort Alamo," lamented Bernardoni.

# photo2

"We have to tighten up all that. We take avoidable goals, it's the hazards of a team that does not know each other. We've only been working together for two weeks. But we still allowed ourselves to hope ", concluded the goalkeeper of the Blues before the" final "of the group against the Japanese.

© 2021 AFP