(Doha) Unfortunate heroes of the 2022 World Cup final, the players of the French team are expected late Monday in Paris and will go to greet their supporters at Place de la Concorde while Argentina is pawing impatiently before to celebrate the new world champions.
Drunk with happiness, the Argentines took to the streets by the millions to celebrate this third World Cup, the last coronation dating back to 1986 and Diego Maradona. The Blues do not keep the trophy won in 2018, but they can be proud of their tournament.
This legendary final was played on penalties (4-2) after a crazy scenario: a double from Lionel Messi, the tournament’s best player, a hat-trick from Mbappé, the competition’s top scorer, and unbreathable extensions (3-3).
To the point of bringing together 24 million viewers on TF1, a “historic audience record” for French television.
Aware of the enthusiasm aroused by their career, the Blues, despite the cruel outcome, have decided to commune with their fans as soon as they return to Paris.
Contrary to the assertions of the president of the French Football Federation, Noël le Graët, who had ruled out the organization of such an event in the morning, the FFF confirmed the holding of a rally Place de la Concorde after the landing of the plane of the Tricolores, scheduled around 8:10 p.m. at Roissy airport.
The Argentinians should arrive around 7 p.m. local time (5 p.m. [heure de l’Est]) at Ezeiza airport in Buenos Aires, where a small reception was planned, according to an airport source, but still uncertain about a reunion the same evening with the more than a million Porteños who, until late in the night, celebrated Sunday the 3e world title.
Messi the equal of Maradona
The day after Argentina’s coronation, the international press celebrated with one voice the “amazing” genius of Messi and his very “Maradonian” performance until the end of an “anthology” match. Without forgetting to console the other star of this “epic” final: the “phenomenon” Mbappé.
REUTERS PICTURES
Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi celebrate their respective victory.
Coming very close to joining Pelé, as double world champion under 24, the young striker must be content with his individual exploits: a historic hat-trick in a final, the title of top scorer in the World Cup (8 goals), the 6e place in the ranking of the best scorers in the history of the World Cups, tied with Pelé (12 goals).
“We will come back,” promised Kylian Mbappé on his Twitter account on Monday, his first words since the disillusionment of the day before.
As for Messi, 35, with this first world title – like Maradona in 1986 – he will still be a little more adored in Argentina.
“Like Diego Maradona in his time, the stadium idol lived up to his reputation on Sunday, more than ever the pride of an entire people”, greeted the French daily Le Figaro on Monday, in praise of the “amazing Messi”.
Mbappé’s teammate at Paris SG also confided that he intended to “live a few more matches by being world champion”.
On the French side, Didier Deschamps, whose coach’s contract ends at the end of December, made an appointment at the start of the year to discuss his future.
“I will have an appointment at the start of the year with my president (of the Federation, Noël Le Graët, editor’s note), and then, you will know”, he announced Sunday evening.
French striker Karim Benzema, the Ballon d’Or 2022, who, injured, could not participate in the World Cup, announced Monday the “end” of his career in the France team.
But this legendary match, played in front of 89,000 people elated by the scenario, should not overshadow the rest.
excess
This Mondial-2022 was indeed that of excess, with between 200 and 300 billion euros invested according to estimates and seven of the eight stadiums emerged from the Qatari sand for the occasion.
And then there were the controversies.
Charges of corruption, first, linked to the surprise obtaining in 2010 of the organization of the World Cup-2022 in Qatar. Judicial inquiries are underway in several countries.
Human rights, including the treatment of migrant workers from South Asia and Africa employed on construction sites, in security and services, were also at the heart of the discussions, despite Qatari denials.
The Doha authorities deny that thousands of them have died on the construction sites of the World Cup, advancing the figure of a total of 414 deaths in work accidents (mainly outside the World Cup) between 2014 and 2020.
LGBT+ rights have also been a controversial subject in a very conservative country where homosexuality and sex outside marriage are illegal.
Finally, the environment has also been a subject of criticism, with in particular the carbon footprint left by the World Cup.