Didier Deschamps, France’s head coach, has explained why his team fell to Argentina in the 2022 FIFA World Cup final on Sunday, 18th December 2022.
Lionel Messi’s first-half penalty and Angel di Maria’s goal in the 36th minute gave the eventual World Cup champions a 2-0 lead at the break as France struggled to get control of the game.
Lionel Messi and company dominated the game for the majority of it, and the reigning champions fell by two goals as Messi converted a penalty before Angel Di Maria made it 2-0 within the first 41st minute.
The defending champions were down until the 80th minute, when Kylian Mbappe scored a quickfire brace in just 95 seconds to keep France in the game and forced overtime.
Les Bleus fell behind once more in the 108th minute before Mbappe’s second penalty kick of the game gave him a hat-trick and sent Argentina to a shootout.
To ensure Argentina won their third championship, Emiliano Martinez made two saves against Kingsley Coman and Aurelien Tchouameni.
Talking after the match, France’s coach Didier Deschamps explained to beIN Sports: “We didn’t show up for various reasons (in the first 60 minutes). In the last four days, we’ve had to deal with challenging situations. Illness first, and then things as a whole.”
“In the first 60 minutes, we weren’t as effective against elite opponents who had a lot more energy, but we fought back from nowhere and changed the game from a very precarious position.”
Deschamps expressed his disappointment as France’s attempt to retain the trophy for the first time in 60 years was unsuccessful.
Before the final game, a virus hit the French team, forcing Adrien Rabiot, Dayot Upamecano, and Kingsley Coman to miss the semi-final match against Morocco.
All three players recovered to play in the final match as Coman missed a critical penalty for France in the shootout.
At halftime, ITV analyst Gary Neville singled out Ousmane Dembele and criticized his ’embarrassing’ defending after the player allowed Argentina to score a penalty after unnecessarily fouling Angel di Maria in the eighteen yard box.
Dembele, who was substituted soon before halftime due to his poor performance in the first half, carelessly clipped Di Maria’s ankles as the latter rushed into the area.
In one of the greatest World Cup finals ever, Lionel Messi led Argentina to victory over France in a tense penalty shootout, sending the Lusail stadium in Doha into a frenzy as he hoisted the trophy aloft.
Messi spent a few more minutes receiving praises from FIFA president Gianni Infantino, Qatar’s emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and other authorities while the entire Argentina team stood in front of their adoring fans in the Lusail stadium.
In contrast, Kylian Mbappe leaves Qatar with the distinction of being the second person after Sir Geoff Hurst of England to score World Cup Final hat trick.
