THE IMMACULATE SELECCIÓN
For a second there, it felt as if this was going to be a rerun for France of the Human Rights World Cup final. Conceding a penalty at the end of the first quarter and looking lost for most of the game, Les Bleus would eventually click. Kylian Mbappé would lock into PlayStation mode, thundering down the left-hand side before cutting in to erase the two-goal deficit. It would be another game for the ages, going beyond normal time – but Luis de la Fuente’s lads weren’t keen on any drama. In reality, Spain put on a suffocating display of control, even if there was little between the two sides in terms of possession. France, the great entertainers of this Geopolitics World Cup, are off home … though not before a jaunt to Miami for the bronze medal game.
- L’Équipe handed twos to Michael Olise, Ousmane Dembélé, and Lucas Digne; Kylian Mbappé got a three.
- Football Daily feels for Didier Deschamps, who suffered a personal loss and chose to Take The Handbrake Off in his final approach.
- Spain will play at New York New Jersey Stadium amid a starry closing ceremony, with Rodri set to dominate midfield.
Football Daily feels for Didier Deschamps, who has had to contend with a personal loss away from the game. This was a man who wanted to play his shots on the way out, a teacher wheeling out the TV and snacks on the last day of term for his class. Deschamps did what England supporters used to plead from Gareth Southgate, opting to Take The Handbrake Off. And with it came an exhibition. Michael Olise’s immaculate through ball for Mbappé against Senegal, Ousmane Dembélé cutting in from the right against Norway, their entire display against Sweden. And yet the French end with their worst World Cup finish since 2014. L’Équipe, having turned the telly off and thrown the sweets in the bin, finished marking the homework: twos for Olise, Dembélé and Lucas Digne for their semi-final showing; a three for Mbappé. Brutal.
“I don’t think we played the match we wanted to play, whether tactically, technically, or in terms of our overall performance level,” sighed Mbappé. “When you don’t do what you’re supposed to do in a World Cup semi-final, you don’t win. Our goal was to press them high up the pitch to prevent them from settling into that slow, controlled rhythm, because when it comes to controlling the game they are better than us. We failed to do that … When you put it all together, the result is a defeat. It’s a huge disappointment.”
Instead it’s Spain who will visit the New York New Jersey Stadium, which will host a closing ceremony for the GWC. Fifa has announced performances by Laura Pausini, Nicole Scherzinger, Robbie Williams, and, um, IShowSpeed, the 21-year-old YouTuber/influencer/streamer/miscellaneous. Fifa will no doubt welcome that sweet, sweet Gen-Z engagement. Tom Cruise will get a run-out too, presumably sky-diving on to the pitch riding a motorbike with Gianni Infantino on his back. This ceremony is separate from the half-time show – “a landmark celebration at the intersection of sport, music and global impact,” according to Fifa – which is very likely to force an extended break in play. Somewhere in the middle of all this will be a game of football, no doubt conducted by Rodri and friends, hypnotising everyone in view.
