To turn the page on the 2022 World Cup, Randal Kolo Muani has transformed himself into a providential man

A year and a half after his missed duel in the World Cup final, Randal Kolo Muani was behind the winning goal for the French team in the round of 16 of the Euro against Belgium on Monday (1-0).

Asked about his personal ambitions for the Euro before the start of the competition, Randal Kolo Muani replied: “Get some playing time, come on at the end of the match if necessary and give your all to help the team win”. A few weeks later, this quote takes on its full meaning after the winning strike from the Parisian striker, even if the French goal against Belgium, Monday July 1, was attributed to Jan Vertonghen against his own camp.

In this Euro, Randal Kolo Muani had, until then, had to make do with a few minutes against Austria and Poland. But against Belgium, the striker brought a lot of freshness and fire to the pitch, replacing Marcus Thuram who was lacking in efficiency. Available offensively and hungry defensively, he changed the match while the substitutes had not yet brought satisfaction in this Euro. And if it is not attributed to him, he is not far from having scored only the third goal of a French substitute in 34 World Cup or Euro matches since 2014.

This decisive action will also allow him to turn the page on a missed duel in the World Cup final against Emiliano Martinez in 2022. An unconverted match ball that had left its mark, him first and foremost since he has seen it again on numerous occasions, even if Kylian Mbappé was recently performing well in West France than in the locker room of the Blues, “we don’t talk about it”as if to forget. And if Antoine Griezmann refuses to talk about “revenge” For his teammate, the Atlético de Madrid player, like Aurélien Tchouameni, were very happy for the Parisian after the match. “He showed the good spirit of the group even if he didn’t play much before. He came on, he had the teeth like the 25 players of the team, and it was with great joy that we saw his goal”commented the midfielder.

With this forced goal, the PSG striker continues to gain confidence with the Blues, while he has always retained that of Didier Deschamps despite a complicated season in Paris. “You may be a little harsh. He doesn’t do everything well, but he is not in a climate of great confidence, due to his transfer too. We must not forget where he comes from.”had justified the coach by announcing the presence of the former Nantais in the list for the Euro. Before the competition, moreover, against Luxembourg (June) and Chile (March), “RKM” had scored his third and fourth goals in the blue jersey.

“He always believed in me, gave me advice, told me to play without pressure”appreciated Randal Kolo Muani in a press conference at the beginning of June. On Monday evening, Didier Deschamps told him to bring some “freshness” and the attacker was able to savour his saving action. “It’s really nice. We pushed a lot, we shot quite a bit, but it wasn’t on target. I had that chance, I tried to target my shot and it was blocked.”he reacted to the microphone of beIN Sports. To the point of making him a starter for the quarter-final? In any case, he scored points against Marcus Thuram and could also be an alternative on the right, where Ousmane Dembélé since the start of the Euro, then Antoine Griezmann on Monday evening, have not yet been radiant.