2023-10-20 05:01:27
The elimination of France It took something away from the atmosphere of the world Cup and Paris is not excited about the semifinals that will be played this Friday and this Saturday in the city. The giant photographs with players – Antoine Dupont is in all of them – with which the brands were associated with the rugby boom go unnoticed by Parisians, in the same way that happens with the Arc de Triomphe. It’s common: they don’t look up to admire the Eiffel Tower. The French have now also lost their charm for the World Cup being played in their home.
The World Cup was embodied in its protagonists. The first finalists will be known this Friday, when the clash that Los Pumas and Los All Blacks will play from 4pm in Argentina ends at the Stade de France, in the Saint Denis neighborhood, with a live broadcast from ESPN and Public TV.
A great game from the Argentine perspective, with the possibility of hitting the ground running and reaching the final for the first time. Beating New Zealand has a flavor that many among the squad that arrived at France 2023 already know.
The All Blacks are still the All Blacksbut since the pandemic these times seem to have become earthly. It is very difficult to beat them, but not impossible. They have the pain of the last World Cup, in which they could not go beyond the semifinals, and they are hurt by having lost their debut in this competition, in the same stadium this Friday, against France.
“We have learned to respect Argentina a lot. We know what it means to them to play for their country. “They have a rich history of overcoming the World Cup and they have done a fantastic job to get here to the same level as us, so it will be a great match,” said the New Zealand coach. Ian Foster.
The history between the two has 40 games, three in World Cups, and the Oceanic team won 37 times. The rest: a draw and two Argentine victories, the last one last year with many players from each side who will meet again.
Ian Foster, coach of the All Blacks. Photo: REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq
Clarion He wanted to know if that means something special to Foster, in the same way as the fact that they are clear favorites, unlike the last game against Ireland, which they beat in the quarterfinals. “First, we never said that we are favorites. It’s a semi-final. We know that these games are all or nothing. Those who are here deserve it and in these instances the game must grow. We are going to have to improve our performance. That is our focus. As we said against Ireland, the best team on the night will win and Argentina has already beaten us”, he indicated.
“The past serves us both. We know each other well, but we don’t know each other playing in the semifinals of a World Cup. At this point in the tournament, it is new territory for us and, as we have already seen, the World Cups are something very different,” he replied to this newspaper.
Foster, like Michael Cheika, plays with pressure. He passes the ball to the other side for the opponent to resolve and puts a limit on Los Pumas’ recognition. Without saying it, he says something like: “Everything is fine, they beat us, but we are the All Blacks”.
In the other side, Thomas Gallo He will be one of those who will have the opportunity to experience from kick off what it is like to face the All Blacks in the semifinals. He is the one who broke the most defenses among all the pillars so far in the World Cup: he did it 18 timesthe double of Ben Tameifuna (Tonga) and Angus Bell (Australia), who follow him.
Guido Petti and Thomas Gallo, in training at the Stade de France. Photo: Emmanuel Fernández / special envoy
“We were analyzing what the match they played with Ireland was. We saw it live, it was very intense and we were ultimately impressed by the 37 phases there were. But this week was one of the best for us and we know what this upcoming game means,” said the pillar.
For the fullback Beauden Barrett There will be a factor that exceeds the game that the two teams can pose and a characteristic of The Pumas that needs to be warned. “We know that they will have a lot of support from the stands from their people and that if they smell blood they will be very dangerous”he pointed out in the same line as Foster, who highlighted the rise against Wales.
“Argentina has been a little off the radar, but with Wales they played well with the score against them,” said the coach as if to regain caution.
Los Rugby Village parallels and the bars that take the screens out to the street and multiply the little tables, do not announce the game on their boards. There is no commercial expectation. The World Cup has four interested parties, its audience is foreign and goes to the field to watch the games. The front pages of newspapers and TV outlets changed the subject. France is on high alert for possible attacks. If the connection with the world was a rugby ball, now the frightening idea is that the war in the Middle East crosses the borders.
Michael Cheika, coach of Los Pumas. Photo: AFP
Off the radar, point or way it can be explained, The Pumas are one of the four teams that will fight for a place in the final. New Zealand and the other two semi-finalists already know what it’s like to play one. What’s more, the other three won it: three times the All Blacks and the Springboks and one England.
The only thing that the Argentine team has that the other three do not have is the motivation to improve and achieve something for the first time. Maybe that fuel will be what takes them to an unknown dimension.
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