At the Stade de France
FAVORITES
We could have feared a decompression of the Blues after the World Cup, the departure of Hugo Lloris and Raphaël Varane. Nothing of the sort. Four matches, four wins, no goals conceded. Full card for the Blues since the World Cup and in these Euro 2024 qualifiers. “We have an exceptional group, relishes Kylian Mbappé, author of the victory penalty Monday, against Greece (1-0). The group gets along very well, lives very well, and we moved on after the World Cup. It’s a young, hungry group that wants to win. It suits me.” It shows and it’s devilishly encouraging for the rest of the festivities, starting with the European Championship (June 14-July 14).
If the Stade de France is not the most appropriate venue for a total fusion between its team and the public, it is well known, it must be recognized that for several years, the atmosphere has been there for the matches of the Blues . This was again the case Monday evening against Greece (1-0) thanks to the support of 81,000 spectators. Between the Marseillaise sung with outstretched throats, the pre-match show with archive images of the epics of the French team or even games of interaction with the crowd who came en masse, not to mention the support of all the moments during the meeting, the Dionysian stadium has not been a place to die for for a long time. Be careful, we don’t make you pass the Stade de France for Bollaert, the Parc des Princes or the Vélodrome, let alone the Bombonera, but something happens when the Blues play there. This is called an emotion.
“We pray for the lawn”. We left Didier Deschamps Friday evening in Faro after the success against Gibraltar (0-3) in doubt about the playing field at the Stade de France. The coach, annoyed and fearful, knew the lawn subjected to the power of the players from La Rochelle and Toulouse in the final of the Top 14 on Saturday evening. In the end, thanks to the colossal work of the gardeners, the French team was able to evolve on a quality green rectangle on Monday, and much better than that of the Algarve stadium three days earlier. The French garden, a reputation that has not been lost over the years.
He arrives in the auditorium of the Stade de France around 11:15 p.m. Monday evening, slipping a few words of French to the audience. The charm works from the start. During his short post-match press conference, he will answer all questions in the language of Molière. Passed by France in Grenoble as a player and for seven months in 2018 on the bench of the Girondins de Bordeaux, the Uruguayan will recognize the superiority of the French team (“The most difficult match since I have been in charge of the selection”), but will also consider that the “best striker in the world (Mbappé) did nothing against us in the first period”, in a tasty outspokenness. And the purest South American style. After barely ten minutes of discussion, without ever speaking Spanish, Greek or English, Poyet leaves the room, impeccable white shirt and “bright” smile. Meanwhile, Deschamps, with whom he played under the colors of Chelsea, arrives, meets him on the stairs, kisses him and wishes him a happy holiday. All in simplicity.
CLAW STRIKES
The Blues were on the rims for this rally. It happened. A bit of a holiday headache too. How can you blame them ? Especially since they did the job by pocketing six points out of six, which puts them in an already ideal position for qualification. But it is sure that it was not “showtime” Monday evening at the Stade de France. Rather the festival of inaccuracies and missed opportunities. Note that to make a great match, it takes two. To make a small one too. The Greeks were obviously instructed not to cross the median line. We’re just exaggerating. They accelerated a little after Mbappé’s penalty, only a little. Roasted Blues, chilly Greeks: only the referee wanted to drag on at the Stade de France with his 14 minutes of stoppage time!
As we have said, the Blues had every reason to be on their knees physically and their heads a little elsewhere. That’s no reason to be so ineffective in front of goal. It’s not as if Greece were part of the European elite… Symbol of tricolor softness, the France team only scored five of its 19 shots on Monday evening. Lacking realism, but especially aggressiveness. Still, shots on target aren’t the most telling stat to prove it: Greece won 57.1% of their duels on Monday night.
The hour of retirement has come for Mr. Lahoz, the referee of this France-Greece. It was the last match of the Spanish whistle. And that’s the main reason why the Blues didn’t have the heart to push him… Asked about his case, Konaté burst out laughing, before letting go, with leniency: “He made a few mistakes but we’re not going to not blame him. Laughter less, Deschamps was on the same line at a press conference. “There were decisions that can lead to discussion,” slipped the coach in front of the press. He was more ironic on TF1: “Random decisions? It’s nice to say that… It was his last match, a referee character… The Var didn’t want to judge him (smile). I saw penalties whistled for less than that. Antoine Griezmann had to be cut in the face (see photo) to finally see the referee designate the penalty spot.
The Liverpool player nevertheless admitted that Mr. Lahoz should have “surely” had to whistle other penalties… “But it was his last match so I am very happy for him. We all have to congratulate him. The game is over. We won.” This is the main thing, indeed. Mateu Lahoz had already been put in the fridge in recent weeks in Spain and we have not forgotten his performance without control during the quarter-final between Argentina and the Netherlands at the World Cup. Lionel Messi had referred to a referee “not up to the task”, while an Emiliano Martinez had called him “crazy and arrogant, the worst referee in the tournament”.