France shatters Belgian dreams
A SAMUEL UMTITI HEADER SENDS LES BLEUS TO A WORLD CUP FINAL — FRANCE’S THIRD IN 20 YEARS.
It took an injury to Raphael Varane, another injury to Jeremy Mathieu and a suspension to Adi Rami for French centre back Samuel Umtiti to get his chance.
Then just 22 years old, Umtiti wasn’t in coach Didier Deschamps’ plans ahead of the previous European Championship.
He was raw and unvetted at this level. Deschamps didn’t trust him.
But the aforementioned series of events led to Umtiti making his first international appearance in the knockout stage of a major tournament.
French media were verging on hysterical upon seeing the country’s fourth- or fifth-string centre back in line to start a semifinal against Germany, the formerly invincible defending World Cup champs.
Umtiti was near-perfect that night in Marseille, completing 100 per cent of his passes and holding Die Mannschaft goalless in an introduction that validated the sizable transfer fee Barcelona paid that summer.
Two years later, the Cameroon-born Frenchman — still just 24 years old — outduelled Belgium’s entire defence to nod home a corner that provided Les Bleus a 1-0 win that put them into a second consecutive final they’ll be favoured in.
We don’t yet know France’s opponent, but already sense pressure being ratcheted up on a French side that somehow bottled a home Euro final against Portugal, making Umtiti’s coming of age a minor detail.
“I’m not the good luck charm,” Umtiti said. “We didn’t win the Euro final so that’s why it’s close to my heart to reach this level at a World Cup and I hope it’s going to be different this time. I hope we’ll be able to bring the World Cup back to France.”
It’s a French side that’s on the cusp of either being unquestionably declared the best squad in the world or the biggest disappointment. No UEFA nation has ever lost a Euro and World Cup final in succession.
“I was there two years ago with my staff. Samuel was there as well,” Deschamps said. “It was so painful that we really want to taste the victory tonight. It’s not nothing to win the semifinal of a World Cup after losing the final of a Euro.
“We have this privilege to give happiness to people and to share this with the public and French people. We’ll come back after Sunday and we’ll see if we can give even more happiness.”
Les Bleus won’t just be probable winners against either Croatia or England. They’ll be heavy favourites given they’ve experienced this before, with a roster that’s undeniably the best remaining after Brazil fell on the weekend.
It’s what ultimately softened the blow for a Belgian side that, according to their coach, was just happy to be here in St. Petersburg, where thousands of Brazilians turned up after expecting to see their countrymen in this game.
Looking back, Belgium coach Roberto Martinez was somewhat prophetical when he labelled the Red Devils’ dispatching of Brazil as their “game of the tournament, no matter what happens.”
It was a bizarre thing to say given Belgium was days away from just its second appearance at a World Cup semifinal. Martinez either played down expectations more than he intended to or he knew his side was in trouble.
Belgium’s run to this point was gruelling given the frantic comeback it needed against Japan and the exhausting display against Brazil. The French, meanwhile, strolled to a quarter-final win over listless Uruguay.
They looked fresh Tuesday night while Belgium’s Eden Hazard disappeared in the second half and Kevin De Bruyne looked like he’d drained his battery last Friday.
“I think that’s part of the World Cup,” Martinez said. “Were we as fresh as we were in the (Brazil) game? No. That’s not an excuse.
“Maybe we suffered more by having less energy. That point is very valid. But I don’t think that’s a point you can raise in a World Cup. You need to be able to cope with travelling and the big emotions of beating Brazil. You need to be able to cope with a big physical effort.”
A reporter asked Deschamps if Umtiti’s gamewinner was a sign of fate given Laurent Blanc and Lilian Thuram, both defenders, scored en route to France’s World Cup win in 1998.
“Everyone has their own destiny,” Deschamps respond. “Are there similarities? We always try to find comparisons, rightly or wrongly.”