(Doha) “The Blues made us dream,” Emmanuel Macron reacted on Twitter on Sunday, after France’s defeat against Argentina in the final of the World Cup in Qatar.
The country of Lionel Messi beat that of Kylian Mbappé on penalties (4 pens to 2, 3-3 after extra time) at the end of a legendary match.
After the defeat, the head of state, who attended the meeting from the stands, tried several times, taking him in his arms, to comfort Kylian Mbappé, with a closed face.
In the locker room, in front of silent players looking crestfallen, he congratulated the team: “There will undoubtedly be regrets after this match (but) you have done great football […] you had the heart, the hunger, the desire and the talent to go there”.
“There are plenty who are very young, who will do many others, more than me as president,” he added, according to images posted on the head of state’s twitter account.
In front of the journalists, at the exit of the locker room, Emmanuel Macron indicated having shared his sadness with the players, “especially like that because we came so close to the goal”. “And at the same time, what I said to the players was that they had made us immensely proud and that they had made us vibrate”.
The Head of State particularly insisted on the “extraordinary” performance of Kylian Mbappé. “Look: we have one tonight who scored three, who is a huge player, he happened to miss penalties, he digested”.
“That’s what makes very great players,” insisted Emmanuel Macron, referring to “one of the greatest World Cup finals”.
“He’s only 24 and I’ll be honest, I’m not in the best position to try to reason with people tonight because I was at least as sad as him,” he added.
“What this match also tells us is that there is never a scenario written in advance, that it is always possible”, concluded Emmanuel Macron.
The Head of State assured that he would receive the team at the Élysée but without specifying a date.
In the meantime, he will travel to the French aircraft carrier Charles-de-Gaulle off Egypt on Monday for the traditional Christmas party with the troops.