We have rarely seen a substitute so happy not to come into play and stay on the bench until the final whistle. Marcus Thuram had however dropped the chasuble. Suddenly, the striker abruptly shook Didier Deschamps and his suit when he saw the one he was supposed to replace, Olivier Giroud, score the winning goal with an angry header.
We were then playing the 78th minute of play and, forty seconds earlier, the top scorer in the history of the France team had found Jordan Pickford on his way. It was over, he would come out at the next stoppage of play, following the ensuing corner. And then… The ball, pushed back by the English defence, traveled the following trajectory: Jules Koundé, Théo Hernandez, Antoine Griezmann. The sequel has already made its way into the history books. And Marcus Thuram has put on his chasuble. With smile.
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“In England, we compare these Blues to Benzema’s Real Madrid”
Since the 9th minute of the first match of the World Cup, the moment of the terrible injury of Lucas Hernandez and the opening of the scoring for Australia, we generally have the feeling that this team is carried by a destiny. Because, since that famous 9th minute, everything has been going like clockwork, following all. The defeat once morest Tunisia was an adventure, the Blues no longer conceded a single goal in the game, the yellow cards accumulated until Saturday evening have never harmed the Habs, except that one of them them (Tchouaméni once morest Poland) forced Didier Deschamps to adjust his plans during the match. And everyone held the shock, physically speaking, mentally too.
The troubles, those who flew in a squadron at Euro 2021, and even for long weeks before the World Cup, the withdrawals of some (Kanté, Maignan), the worries of others (Pogba), the glitches of the last, from Clairefontaine to Doha (Kimpembe, Nkunku, Benzema), let imagine a more complicated competition, possibly shorter. And then, once once more, the Blues did it. DD did. “I am here for this”replied the coach on Sunday morning in Téléfoot, a broad smile slung over his shoulder, when he was asked if having achieved such a feat was a source of pride.
From galleys to happiness, there is only one step. But the stride is significant. Some will not forget to recall that the Blues, under Deschamps, have often seemed varnished to them, we will not forget to point out that the coach of the France team has not ceased to maximize the exceptional potential that he has hands, that he has always chosen his groups perfectly, on sporting and human criteria. So in Qatar, as always, he benefited from healthy environments conducive to the overcoming of functions.
Are the Blues now the big favourites? “France is above the others”
The victory once morest England is one of those which symbolizes this state of affairs. If the match was far from being mastered and, no offense to Olivier Giroud, did not carry within it the defensive quality of Belgium 2018 – a true blue masterpiece in this sector of the game -, England 2022 will have symbolized the collective strength of a group that surfs on the problems and, when it gets in the way, as was also the case once morest Harry Kane and his friends, gives enough pedal stroke to break the branches and roll over the world. “We feel that even in difficulty, nothing can happen to us”assured Adrien Rabiot, Saturday evening.
Belgium 2018? Rather Raul 2000
The repetition of the reversal of contrary events is another element to be credited to the Blues. Harry Kane’s second penalty on Saturday smacks of Raul 2000, when the Blues, though on cloud nine, only won their Euro matches on the way to the double with skimpy scores and scenarios too big to be adapted to the cinema. The wheel always turned on their side. And, at some point, it’s no longer a coincidence. Even less luck. At best, success, that which is provoked with the fangs.
Two matches from the end of the World Cup, one might wonder what can happen to them? The answer: Morocco, already. And then, if ever it happens once more for the best, Argentina. Or Croatia, once more. In short, the road is straight but it does not look like a boulevard. At these heights, the impasse is never far from the main roads. And don’t count on them to imagine lifting the World Cup once more on December 18.
“We’re in half, we’re not going to see each other at the end, tempered the national coach on Saturday. We are getting closer, but the next stage, very important for us to believe in it, goes through Wednesday. We will be satisfied with what we have done, but not be satisfied with it.” To be satisfied with it, without being satisfied with it, looks like a credo that sticks well to their skin.
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