the Blues challenge the Argentine ogre for a place in the final – Libération

Will a new feat take place in Tashkent this Thursday evening? And should we even speak of an exploit? For its first participation in the World Cup, the French team sees the road to the final in Uzbekistan, on condition of overcoming Argentina, among the favorites of the competition. Unpredictable, the poster further fuels an emerging football rivalry between two nations accustomed to crossing paths on all sides of professional football in recent years: round of 16 of the 2018 World Cup, final of the 2022 World Cup, without obscuring the quarter Olympic final this summer and blind football final won by the Blues at the Paralympic Games a month earlier.

Vista and ant work

The affair promises to be tough (the Albiceleste swept Kazakhstan, 4th in the last World Cup, 6-1 in the previous round), but the Blues, who have already achieved their objective of getting out of the groups , play as if they didn’t have the slightest ounce of pressure on their shoulders. Apart from their non-match against Iran on the final day of group play when they were already qualified, the Tricolores have achieved a formidable faultless performance so far, applying their game plan to the letter.

In the quarters, Raphaël Raynaud’s men disposed of Paraguay (2-1) by applying their game: vista, brilliant inspirations in small spaces, doubling of passes as during the opening score, conclusion of a sequence of transmissions short between Abdessamad Mohammed and Souheil Mouhoudine, to serve Ouassini Guirio who only had to push the ball into the back of the net. And when Paraguay managed to equalize five minutes later, the Blues did it again via Abdessamad Mohammed, leaving their goalkeeper Francis Lokoka to put the qualification in the safe. The latter blocked the rest of the opposing shots, including one at the last minute which triggered the intervention of the video referee. In vain.

Asked by Libé mid-September just before the start of the tournament, the coach highlighted the recent developments of the discipline in France over the last decade to explain France’s sporting successes in the discipline. And in particular the contribution of international experiences. They “are positive for the group and make our results currently conclusive”rejoices Raphaël Reynaud. “The training offers talented young players to the France team. These are the results of the structuring of futsal clubs and schools. All this didn’t exist ten years ago. It was painstaking work that allowed France to become a selection that counts.”