France failed to defend the World Cup title as they fell short to Argentina on penalties in one of the most breathtaking finals in the competition’s history. After a 3-3 draw, the defending champions failed to keep their cool in the shootout, surrendering the crown to the South American champions.
Except for a 1-0 defeat to Tunisia in a Group D dead rubber, Les Bleus have fared well in Qatar, winning all five remaining matches inside the regular 90 minutes. Inspired by goals from Theo Hernandez and Randal Kolo Muani, Didier Deschamps’ side claimed a comfortable 2-0 victory over surprise package Morocco. In doing so, France became the first reigning World Cup champion to reach the final since Brazil in 1998.
However, they soon came to realize that beating Argentina won’t be a straightforward task as it was against Croatia four years ago. Ousmane Dembélé’s reckless challenge on Angel Di Maria early on sent Lionel Messi to the spot, with La Pulga sending Hugo Lloris the wrong way to break the deadlock in the 23rd minute. France found themselves 2-0 down already in the 36th minute.
Argentina’s lightning-fast counter-attack finished off by Di Maria threw the defending champions into disarray. However, they bounced back late in the game, mainly thanks to their standout performer Kylian Mbappe. The Paris Saint-Germain superstar first converted a spot-kick before hammering home a sensational volley to sent the game to extra time.
Mbappe’s club teammate Messi brought Argentina back upfront before the 23-year-old forward scored another penalty in the dying moments to fire one of the most exciting World Cup finals to penalties. Unfortunately, Mbappe’s heroics proved insufficient as France lost in the shutout, failing to become the first nation to defend the crown since Brazil in 1962.
France (4-3-3)
Hugo Lloris – 7
It’s hard to rate a goalkeeper high when he conceded three times, yet the veteran Tottenham Hotspur shot-stopper exceeded expectations.
Jules Kounde – 6
Too loose with his passing, making it almost impossible for his team to build from the back.
Dayot Upamecano – 6.5
Put under an awful lot of pressure and struggled to deal with it, especially in the first half but improved as the match progressed.
Raphael Varane – 7
Not even injuries tempered with one of the best center-backs on the planet as the Manchester United star defender proved his class once again.
Theo Hernandez – 5
One of his poorest performances in Qatar this winter as the Milan left-back struggled to deal with Messi and Rodrigo De Paul while skipping his offensive tasks.
Aurelien Tchouameni – 6.5
Scoring penalties has never been part of Tchouameni’s assignment list. He held up his end of the bargain throughout the match, winning back possession for France multiple times while barely giving the ball away.
Adrien Rabiot – 6
Despite failing to impact the game in the front third, the Juventus midfielder embraced the dirty work in his own half and lived up to the billing.
Antoine Griezmann – 5.5
Even though he has been one of Les Bleus’ best-performing players at the tournament, Grizemann was unrecognizable today. Could’ve left the game easier.
Ousmane Dembele – 2
It doesn’t get much worse than this. In addition to being invisible in the opposition’s half, he committed one of the silliest penalties in Qatar.
Kylian Mbappe – 8
If today’s game is anything to go by, Mbappe could be the best football player of all time, even better than today’s winner Messi.
Olivier Giroud – 3.5
A game the Milan striker would wish he had slept over. Had no contact with the ball before being replaced by Marcus Thuram already in the first half.
Substitutes
Marcus Thuram – 6.5
Replaced Olivier Giroud and went on to deliver an assist to Mbappe and make the Argentina backline sweat time and time again.
Randal Kolo Muani – 6
Despite being a monstrous improvement on Ousmane Dembélé, he squandered a glorious opportunity to determine the final in the final seconds of extra time.
Kingsley Coman – 6.5
Another substitute that turned the game on its head, helping France regain the foothold in this game.
Eduardo Camavinga – 6
Youssouf Fofana – N/A
Ibrahima Konate – N/A