France knocks Argentina out of Olympics in a duel that validates competition

France knocks Argentina out of Olympics in a duel that validates competition

2024-08-03 07:29:10

The 2024 Paris Olympics also confirm something: at least in football – and perhaps this extends to other sports too – the showdown between Argentina and France can now be classified as an international classic. The conditions were set for anger, fury and rivalry after the most epic final in World Cup history in Qatar. Everything that happened after that reinforced it. The intensity of this new rivalry was felt yesterday in Bordeaux by large crowds of blue, white and red fans. As a result, this time, I went to France. Thierry Henry’s side beat Javier Mascherano’s side 1-0 to reach the semi-finals.

Forward Jean-Philippe Mateta opened the scoring with a header just five minutes later, sealing a final Olympic quarter-final duel that ended in shoving, insults and clashes between players, assistants and fans. The struggle ends: it’s fair to say it’s far from what you imagined.

Fans don’t help relieve stress either. The Bordeaux stadium was packed with 42,000 spectators, who hurled insults at Albie Celeste from the moment he came on to warm up, before heating up the atmosphere further by playing the Argentinian national anthem.

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Whistle. This has happened in previous matches, possibly due to racist and homophobic chants directed at Mbappe and his French colleagues as players celebrated the recent Copa America win in the United States.

And of course, there’s the blow delivered in the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar, where Messi and Co. defeated Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann. Everyone was absent from Bordeaux yesterday.

After earning full points in Group A, led by “Titi” Henry, the French team blended in with their compatriots in the stands from the start of the game: there was a hostile atmosphere and an aura that was unbecoming of the French.

Captain Alexandre Lacazette, Juan Matata and winger Michael Olise sent Mascherano’s defense into a frenzy as they repeatedly invaded the defense, some from above and some from below.

Mascherano’s side, who finished second in Group B, had already shown signs of deficiencies in football with goals from Ezequiel Fernandez (29) and Giuliano Simeone (36) A very clear shot equalized the score, but goalkeeper Guillaume Restes had a poor shot.

“I leave with sadness, obviously, I think we deserved more than what we got, well, nothing, football has these things. Unfortunately today the ball didn’t want to go in and we had to leave,” Mas Cerano later declared in the mixed zone.

During the game, the atmosphere in Bordeaux was calm, with few Argentine fans present, looking forward to winning their third gold medal (Macheche was present in Athens in 2004 and Beijing in 2008), but as time passed, the pressure increased. Bigger until the end, after a struggle and a push on the pitch, the French player celebrated at the elbow where Celeste Blanc was, another example of the rivalry that would become a recurring theme as the showdown between the two It may continue to intensify.

Now, after winning one in Los Angeles in 1984, France is on track for a second gold medal.

Milo’s ‘hate-promoting’ gesture

Frenchman Enzo Milo made an obscene gesture towards the bench while celebrating Argentina’s 1-0 win in the Olympic quarter-finals.

After the game, the attacker stood in front of his Argentinian team-mates with a smile on his face and made a gesture that caused discomfort to the Argentinian team, who had gathered to accuse the Frenchman of his behavior, but others also intervened blocked.

Nicolas Otamendi, Leandro Bure and Lucas Beltran were the three Argentines who led the counterattack against Milo and clashed with France, with both teams almost got involved in this fight.

On the other hand, goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli got into an argument with left-back Kylian Sildilla due to a challenge at half-time, which France had already won 1-0 in Bordeaux.

The moment did not go unnoticed by Uzbek referee Ilgiz Tantashev as he ejected Milot as the Argentine walked through the tunnel towards the dressing room after the game and the locals returned to celebrate with fans, Because he made the gesture that “they instigated.”

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