SARAJEVO: Antoine Griezmann scored the game’s lone goal in the second half as defending champions France won 1-0 over Bosnia Herzegovina in a World Cup qualifier earlier this morning.

Griezmann headed in Adrien Rabiot’s cross after an hour in Sarajevo to give the world champions their second home win in four days after a previous 2-0 win in Kazakhstan.

After being tied 1-1 at home in the opening match against Ukraine in a bid to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, France are now in a strong position to qualify from Group D.

They collected seven points, four ahead of Ukraine who are tied 1-1 with Kazakhstan in Kiev, and five points ahead of Finland who still have a match in hand.

However, captain Hugo Lloris admitted they did not play well.

“We were a little diligent, especially in the first half,” said Lloris who matched Thierry Henry’s record with 123 caps.

“We played badly but won because of the team spirit. That’s something we can count on, it’s not the first time, but we have to keep going and improve because we have important matches in June and July.”

The qualifying campaign will return to start in September as France are scheduled to await Bosnia’s arrival, but now they can shift their focus to Euro 2020.

Coach Didier Deschamps hopes his side will be back at their best ahead of the tournament with Les Bleus in the group with Germany, Portugal and Hungary.