“On remet ça!”, was the big headline on the L’Équipe website. “We’re back,” he said to announce that France, champion in Russia, repeated the World Cup final four years later. The last two teams that achieved it lost the title: Argentina in 1990 and Brazil in 1998.
The French joy spread to the President of the Republic. Emmanuel Macron enjoyed himself in the box at the Al Bait stadium. And then he wanted to go down to congratulate the players in the locker room. The president spoke of pride and praised Didier Deschamps’ selection. “This team made me very proud. I saw an extraordinary match again, ”he applauded.
Macron acknowledged that he was nervous. “I was tense because a game was never won. The Moroccans played very well. I thank Didier Deschamps and this team, a mix of different generations, ”he analyzed.
The politician highlighted a player above all. “Griezmann is incredibly generous”, he chose, before announcing that he will be present in the final against Argentina. “Sunday you have to win. I will be there, ”he explained confidently. “There are no two without three,” he said of the third star.
Griezmann was chosen as the best player in the second semifinal, just as Leo Messi, his former teammate at Barça, was in the first. Both will face each other in the final. And on the 7th of France he confessed that he has not lost any meeting of Argentina in Qatar. “Argentina is a great team. I have seen all their games. The truth is that Leo is at a great level. But the rest too. They fight all the balls and they are well worked, ”he analyzed his rival for the title.
At the age of 31, the Atlético footballer opens a new position, further back, as a midfielder. “I am more in the creation because I have many players ahead of me. I am doing whatever it takes to help and to win,” he recounted. Griezmann, like Dembélé, has not scored yet.
“Is incredible. Playing two finals in a row is incredible”, said Theo Hernández, scorer of the first goal. As in 1998 and 2018, a defender put Les Bleus with one foot in the final. So it was Thuram and Umtiti, respectively. Theo Hernández predicts an even game and had a memory for his brother Lucas, injured in the first game. “The final against Argentina, we know it will be a great match. We are going to work hard to win this final.
Two other players without much international background had a great contribution in the semifinals. Fofana was the starter. “It was not easy to replace Adrien Rabiot,” he confessed. The Monaco midfielder still doesn’t think he’s one step away from winning the World Cup. “Right now I don’t realize it,” he recounted. For his part, Kolo Muani scored the second goal on the first ball he touched. “It is a childhood dream. I’m still dreaming.”
Facing the final, the Eintracht striker is clear about it. “A final cannot be played, you have to win it. We will face the match with enthusiasm and determination”.
On the Moroccan side, Bono regretted that the rejections favored France in both goals. “In the first, Mbappé shoots, we reject and it returns to Theo. The two goals were strange plays but the French players are so good that they take advantage of the slightest opportunity, ”he acknowledged, despite congratulating his teammates on their character.
For his part, the coach Walid Regragui lamented the last-minute casualties. “We lost Aguerd in the warm-up and Saïss at the start of the match. Those who have left have left everything ”,
