Find the main information of the day on the FIFA World Cup in Qatar on the 29th day of the competition.
Argentina and France meet at 4 p.m. to try to win a third star.
The final
If the image is not displayed correctly, click on this link.
The Blues in full to prepare for the final
Concern has been mounting in recent days about the state of health of several Blues. Finally, the good news fell on Saturday afternoon. The players have all trained for their last collective session before the big game. All, including Raphaël Varane, Kingsley Coman and Ibrahima Konaté who were the main concerned by a mysterious virus which circulated in the hotel of the France team. Theo Hernandez, hit in the knee, and Aurélien Tchouaméni, bothered by his hip, also seem to have recovered. Nothing to report either for Adrien Rabiot, absent from the semi-final, who seems to be doing better in recent hours.
On the other hand, Olivier Giroud is not certain to be one of the holders, according to RMC Sport. He would feel “several genes linked to the sequence of matches”. Marcus Thuram could thus be established on the left lane while Kylian Mbappé could evolve at the forefront of the attack.
Croatia snatch bronze
Luka Modric’s teammates won Saturday’s small final against Morocco with a score of 2 goals to 1. The Croats finished third in the World Cup and the Atlas Lions just off the podium. Relieved of the pressure of the previous rounds in a game without stakes and driven by a desire to finish well, the two teams got into it. For the second time in a row, Croatia finished on the World Cup podium. Morocco, robbed of a penalty at the end of the match, will forever remain the first African country to have reached the last four of a World Cup. The report of our special envoy to Qatar.
quote of the day
“We put that back ?”
— Emmanuel Macron, in a video posted on social networks
The President of the Republic seems to be looking forward to this afternoon. Arrived Saturday evening in Doha, Emmanuel Macron shared a tasty montage on his social networks, mixing images captured during the semi-final against Morocco on Wednesday evening. The video is captioned with “We put that back ?”, reference to the famous Danette ad from 2000. Pele mixes, we see the Head of State raise his fists in the sky on the second goal of the Blues, participate in the party in the locker room, hand out hugs to Didier Deschamps, blow a kiss to Olivier Giroud, tapping Kylian Mbappé’s cheek or even squeezing David Beckham’s hand.
Kante, Kimpembe, Pogba and Nkunku in Qatar, not Benzema
Packages for the World Cup, N’Golo Kanté, Presnel Kimpembe, Paul Pogba and Christopher Nkunku will still set foot in Qatar. The four injured will attend the final between their teammates and Argentina from the stands of the Lusail stadium since they were invited by Emmanuel Macron. As for the match against Morocco, the Head of State will be accompanied by a delegation including artists and sportsmen. According the ParisianBrigitte Macron will be present, as will judoka Teddy Riner, former footballer Alain Giresse, former boxer Brahim Asloum and Stéphanie Frappart, the first woman to referee a men’s World Cup match.
Also invited by the President of the Republic, Laurent Blanc, Michel Platini and Karim Benzema will not be on the trip, however. If the Ballon d’Or 2022 posted a message of support after qualifying against England on his social networks, he also continues to write enigmatic tirades. The latest of which, a captioned selfie of a “it does not interest me”posted Friday on Instagram.
The question of the day
How many spectators will attend the World Cup final at the Lusail stadium? There are several possible answers to this question. The first is to say that it will be enough to wait for the organizers to communicate this figure during the match, as is now customary at major sporting events. Problem: this figure will not necessarily reflect reality. Since the start of the competition, many media have pointed out the gap between the announced crowds and the reality of the spans. Sometimes the numbers even exceeded the stadiums’ official capacity. For example, 41,721 people are supposed to have seen the group match between the Netherlands and Senegal at the Al-Thumama stadium, which has 40,000 seats, according to information from Fifa. The body has since revised the official capacity of the stadiums and this is how the final stadium, which had 80,000 seats before the start of the tournament, can now accommodate 88,966 spectators. Our infographic here.
picture of the day
The Argentine metro station, located on line 1 of the Paris metro, was renamed on the night of Saturday to Sunday “Argentina – France Go the Blues!”. A communication operation that did not go over very well on the users’ side. Many comments denounce the “com coup” of the RATP while for weeks Parisians have been complaining about the deterioration of the metro. Too long waiting time, overcrowded trains, overloaded corridors. Since the summer and a shortage of drivers, the Paris metro is no longer popular. The last time a Line 1 station was renamed in this way was in honor of Queen Elizabeth II, who died on September 8. The George V station had been renamed “Elizabeth II”.
A French bagad to close the World Cup?
On Sunday evening, there will be a bit of Brittany in Qatar. According to France Bleu Breizh Izel, the bagad of Lann Bihoué was invited to play at the end of the World Cup final between France and Argentina. Warned on Thursday, the 21 musician sailors did not yet know what they were going to play when they embarked for Qatar. Only certainty, the group will not play the Marseillaise.
“Messi, Messi, Messi.” The name “la Pulga” is visible everywhere, audible all the time. With five goals in this World Cup and countless acts of genius, the Argentinian captain is obviously instrumental in his country’s ascent to the final this Sunday against the Blues. But other players also had a significant role, revealing themselves in passing to the eyes of the general public. Julian Alvarez, who has become the number 2 attacking asset, Enzo Fernandez, the new emperor of the Argentine midfielder and the goalkeeper specialist in penalty shootouts, Emiliano Martinez. Here are three without whom Lionel Messi would possibly be brooding over this World Cup at his Parisian home. Read our article.
Statistics, anecdotes, records… The 10 things to know before the final
Top 10. The final of the Qatari World Cup pits two of the greatest nations in football against each other, for a meeting that promises to be between great history and little gossip. In order to impress his friends or have a topic of discussion with his in-laws during the France-Argentina final on Sunday, Freed has concocted a list of things to bring out between two olives, hot chocolates or fresh booze.