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ST. PETERSBURG, Russia – They are young, they are impetuous and collectively worth a billion dollars
The only thing missing for this French team is an international title.
Kylian Mbappe, Paul Pogba and France
The Blues are heading to the World Cup Final
Samuel Umtiti won a 1-0 win against Belgium – and got the approval of watch French President Emmanuel Macron in the VIP seats at St Petersburg Stadium – scoring on a header from a corner kick in the 51st minute Tuesday.
"Long live France! Long live the Republic!" France striker Antoine Griezmann shouted at post-game celebrations.
Umtiti played his part in a strong defensive effort of the French, thus helping to dismiss the tournament's most memorable team and leaving the golden generation of Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku to regret another missed opportunity at a major tournament:
"It's me who scored," said Umtiti, "but we all delivered a big game."
French players danced after the final whistle and their fans sang in the stands long after the end of the match, surrounded by yellow safety.
They certainly hope that the party will continue Sunday in the final in Moscow. France – with an average age of 26 – will face Croatia or England, who played Wednesday at the Luzhniki Stadium in the Russian capital, and has a chance of redemption after losing her last two Grand Finals – at the 2006 World Cup when Zinedine Zidane was sent off for a headache and the 2016 European Championship at home.
"We are extremely privileged to be in the final of the World Cup," said French coach Didier Deschamps. "It was so painful two years ago that we must savor it."
Deschamps now has the chance to become the third person to win the World Cup as a player and coach after the great Franz Beckenbauer and the Brazilian Mario Zagallo. As captain of France, Deschamps raised the most popular football trophy in 1998.
Deschamps was criticized for being too pragmatic and functional despite a team of superstars, but his team was superbly put in place against an opponent Minor chances and denied twice by the French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.
He plunged to his right halfway through the first half to catch Toby Alderweireld's shot, before pbading Lukaku to shoot one of the many crosses sent into a tournament dominated by goals scored by goals. , France's goal came when Griezmann opened the ball on the right and Umtiti approached Belgian midfielder Marouane Fellaini At the top of the stands, President Macron reacted by shaking hands with King Philippe de Belgium while FIFA President Gianni Infantino, was watching "Unfortunately for us, the difference is just a dead ball situation, a set game," said coach Roberto Martinez of Belgium. "The game was, as you can imagine, very close, very tight, and he was going to be decided (maybe) whoever could find the finishing touch in the surface."
After reaching the quarterfinals at both the 2014 World Cup and European Championship in 2016, Belgium again missed the opportunity to qualify for an international finals and n & # 39; has not yet met his high expectations. At the top of the tournament standings with 14 goals, many thought it could be their year.
With Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar who are no longer in Russia, Hazard and Mbappe took the lead in the World Cup and there was a buzz every time one or the other. other received the ball.
Yet while Hazard – the captain of Belgium – fainted after a sharp 30-minute opening, Mbappe was a constant threat. His first contact was after 10 seconds and, after receiving the ball on the right wing, he pbaded Jan Vertonghen and then Mousa Dembele on a thrilling race.
At age 19, Mbappe was not even born when France won the World Cup for the first and only time with a team as diverse as Deschamps leads 20 years later.
Umtiti was born in Cameroon. Mbappe has Algerian-Cameroonian roots.
"It's a pure pleasure to see these players grow up," says Deschamps, "and never give up."
Instead of a trip to Moscow, Belgium will return to St. Petersburg Saturday for the match for third place, no team wants to play.
With the French and Gabonese presidents and the King and Queen of Belgium, there were rock kings 'n'. roll watching the game.
Mick Jagger of the many famous faces in the stands at the stadium of St. Petersburg. The singer of the Rolling Stones is a big football fan, having attended the World Cup final in Brazil in 2014 as well as at many matches in England.
Pamela Anderson, former Baywatch actress, partner of French defender Adil Rami, was also present.
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