LUSAIL, Qatar — After a World Cup where everything went quite as planned until the final, Franceour players went through the biggest emotional roller coaster last Sunday Argentina and Lionel Messi. Going 2-0 down in the first half, then going ahead Kylian MbappeHis two-minute double leveled the score late in the game; Messi’s goal in extra time, but again went ahead as Mbappe leveled again with two minutes remaining. Then in the end drowned in a sea of sadness and regret after the penalty shootout when Argentina lifted the championship trophy.
Losing a World Cup final is always difficult. It’s even more ruthless when it comes to penalties. The wound is too great to think about the positives to take away from the tournament, but when they do, Didier Deschamps and his players will reflect on why the first 60 minutes of the final were so traumatic. such a disaster and why 50 minutes later is so much better.
Such a Jekyll-and-Hyde performance by the Deschamps army had never happened before at this tournament; it’s actually the opposite. Besides the 0-1 loss to Tunisia in the final round of the group stage, France played calmly, ruthlessly and effectively throughout the match. But it seems that the pressure of the final, the presence of the legendary Messi in front of them and the noisy support of the Argentine fans have caused the team to lose faith and forget what made them successful. in Qatar.
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Argentina had a great first half, scoring first from a Messi penalty and then a beautiful pass from Angel Di Maria, but Deschamps will have to figure out exactly what happened to the team. mine. Did he not prepare well enough? Did he go wrong tactically and have trouble reacting after his team’s initial difficulties? Did the virus that hit the French camp during the week play a role and physically weaken the players?
There are many questions to be answered, but one thing is for sure: Since Deschamps took the job with France in the summer of 2012, his team has never been so overwhelmed at a major tournament. . not by Germany in 2014 (1-0, World Cup quarterfinals), not by Portugal 2016 (1-0, Euro 2016 final), not by Switzerland in 2021 (3-3, lost on penalties in the round of 16 of Euro 2020). There have been some setbacks in qualifying or Nations League campaigns, but not like how Argentina controlled things in the first half. And certainly not in a game of this caliber.
France holds the ball sloppy, is second in all duels, loses the ball every second and doesn’t seem to have any fights. Something had to change.
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Dale Johnson recounts the referee’s decisions during Argentina’s victory over France in the World Cup final.
For the first time in his career, Deschamps made two substitutions after 40 minutes – a winger Ousmane Dembelewho fouled Argentina for the first goal, and the striker Olivier Giroudwho didn’t have much of a ball before going on the field and looked frustrated. Randal Kolo Muani and Marcus Thuram came on and gave France a fighting chance in the second half, when the genius Mbappe took over.
No shots were taken until the 70th minute and the game was chased as time ran out, a 4-2-4 formation that Deschamps adopted afterwards. Kingsley Coman to replace Antoine Griezmann to take a position on the right wing – with Mbappe and Kolo Muani in the center and Thuram on the left – worked effectively to put pressure on Argentina.
When Kolo Muani broke through and won a penalty with less than 10 minutes remaining, taken by Mbappe, France came to life. A minute later, Thuram made a perfect tire for Mbappe to score a brilliant second and the game was over. It shouldn’t have taken this long, but the desire, the faith has returned, and it’s something the team must remember to move forward. France showed a lot of commitment after going 2-0 down, they didn’t panic and what they lacked in their usual ruthlessness, they made up for with courage.
Extra-time saw another Messi-Mbappe tit-for-tat, but France could have won in the dying moments of the game when Kolo Muani’s shot was blocked by the Argentina goalkeeper. Emiliano Martinez.
In the penalty shootout, Messi and Mbappe kicked things off at their usual level before the pressure proved too great for Coman and Aurelien Tchouameni. They are young; they will learn. France’s younger generation will gain a lot from this failure, and the future is bright as long as lessons are learned. They will all be stronger in 18 months’ time for Euros in Germany.
Maybe, at times, Deschamps’ minimalism isn’t enough. With the players he has on hand, he can do so much more. Perhaps in the future, Mbappe should play in the second striker position, where he is best against top teams, rather than on the left wing.
France could have won this final, but in terms of balance in play, they deserved to lose. Entering this match with a lot of ambition and confidence, they were surprised by Argentina’s well-organized and attacking play. However, considering the players absent due to injury (Paul Pogba, Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante, Christopher Nkunku, Presnel Kimpembe and Lucas Hernandez), pre-tournament problems around the French league, as well as the hotel rounding sickness, the 2022 World Cup has been very positive for France.
On Tuesday, Mbappe will be 24 years old. He may not add another World Cup to his list of achievements, but he continues to break one record after another. His eight goals in the tournament are among the highest for a Golden Boot winner, while he is the only player in history to score four goals in World Cup finals. and the second person to score a hat trick in one – after Englandby Sir Geoff Hurst in 1966.
Mbappe has shown why he is the leader of this team, and while Messi was the ultimate superstar of the night, France’s future is in very safe hands.
