LUSAIL, Qatar — After a World Cup where everything went pretty much according to plan until the final, France‘s players experienced the biggest rollercoaster of emotions on Sunday against Argentina and Lionel Messi. Down 2-0 in the first half, then up after Kylian Mbappe‘s two-minute brace levelled the scores late on; down to a Messi goal in extra time, but up again as Mbappe levelled once more with two minutes remaining. Then finally down in a sea of sorrow and regret after the penalty shootout as Argentina lifted the trophy.
Losing a World Cup final is always tough. It is even more cruel when it comes on penalties. The wound is too raw to think about what positives to take away from the tournament but, when they do, Didier Deschamps and his players will reflect on why the first 60 minutes of the final were such a disaster and why the following 50 were much better.
Such a “Jekyll and Hyde” performance from Deschamps’ men had not happened before at this tournament; it was actually the opposite. Aside from the second-string XI losing 1-0 to Tunisia in the final group game, France had been composed, ruthless and efficient throughout. But it seems the pressure of the final, the presence of the legendary Messi against them and the noisy support from the Argentine fans, caused the team to lose their mojo and forget what had made them so good in Qatar.
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Argentina had a wonderful first half, scoring first from a Messi penalty and then following a fine move finished off by Angel Di Maria, but Deschamps will have to figure out exactly what happened to his side. Did he fail to prepare well enough? Did he get his tactics wrong and struggle to react after his team’s early struggles? Did the virus that hit the France camp during the week play a role and weaken the players physically?
There are a lot of questions to answer, but one thing is for sure: since Deschamps took the France job in the summer of 2012, his team had never been dominated like this in a major tournament. Not by Germany in 2014 (1-0, World Cup quarterfinal), not by Portugal in 2016 (1-0, Euro 2016 final), not by Switzerland in 2021 (3-3, lost on penalties in Euro 2020 round of 16). There have been some defeats in qualifying campaigns or the Nations League, but not in the same way Argentina controlled things in the first half. And certainly not in a game of this calibre.
They were sloppy in possession, second to every duel, lost every second ball, and looked devoid of any fight. Something had to change.
