a record audience in France for the final, the Blues who did not have “all their strength”, Messi as at the hairdresser, Buenos Aires on a cloud… The news of December 19 – Liberation

Find the main information of the day on the FIFA World Cup in Qatar the day after the final.

There it’s finished… Release publishes its latest world newspaper this Monday after an incredible final between Argentina and France. Lionel Messi’s team wins the third World Cup in its history by beating Les Bleus on penalties.

The French team did not have all its “energies”

“When there is not the Grail at the end, and we were not far from it, it hurts.” Didier Deschamps obviously appeared very disappointed after this defeat in the final against Argentina. But the French coach still remained lucid, admitting that, “At 2-0, if we take a third, there is nothing to say”. For him, the Blues have “didn’t do the right thing for almost an hour”. “Afterwards, with a lot of quality, courage and energy, we pushed them to their last entrenchments.” With a lot of Kylian Mbappé especially. Argentina is “an opponent who, beyond quality, has everything it takes to add to it, influence, provocation, has experience”, nevertheless criticized Deschamps. Who also had a word – rather cryptic again – about the state of his troops before kick-off: “We did not have all our strength and our energies for different reasons”. Does the coach talk about the mysterious virus that affected some players during the preparation for the final?

Blues in the soul… and at home

Eventually, they will go straight home. The Blues will not go to Place de la Concorde on their return to Paris at the end of the day on Monday. It was the president of the FFF, Noël Le Graët, who announced it at the end of the morning. Previously, the Minister of Sports, Amélie Oudéa-Castera had announced that the French team had “want to go and thank (his) supporters” and that she would go to the square without going up the Champs-Elysées, a tradition generally devolved to the winners.

A “historic audience record” for TF1

The World Cup final won by Argentina was watched by 24.08 million people on TF1, which is a “historic audience record” for French television, the channel announced on Monday. This record is set “all programs and channels combined”, said TF1, citing figures from Médiamétrie. The precedent dates back to the Portugal-France semi-final of the 2006 World Cup, with 22.2 million viewers.

Between a “breathtaking” Messi and a Mbappé “for the history books”

“Legendaries” (Release). “Heads up” (The team). “Big heart” (Le Dauphiné Libéré). “An Unfinished Symphony” (The Picard courier). Just as disappointed as the Blues after an extraordinary final in Doha, French newspapers hailed the progress of the France team on Monday during this month of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. In Italy, the Sports Journal also famousMbappé, a phenomenon that does not resemble anyone” while the Süddeutsche Zeitung pays homage to the Frenchman and his “individual performance for the football history books”. Read the press review.

Very dear Emmanuel Macron

Our president loves football. The scenes of Emmanuel Macron trying to comfort a destroyed Kylian Mbappé on the lawn of the Lusail stadium bothered many viewers on Sunday evening as the president’s attempts to bring everything back to him are big. But, less anecdotal subject, his round trips by plane to attend the semi-final and the final probably had a gigantic cost. Just over 500,000 euros according to the magazine’s calculations point, “i.e. 31 years of minimum wage”. This does not take into account the environmental cost: the carbon footprint of Emmanuel Macron’s journeys in Qatar would amount to 480 tonnes of CO2 equivalent, “i.e. 53 years of the average carbon footprint of a Frenchman” a few weeks after the COP climate in Egypt and in full COP biodiversity in Canada, calculated the weekly. Very dear President.

Some clashes after the final

A total of 227 people were arrested in France, including 47 in Paris and its metropolitan area, during the clashes after the World Cup final won by Argentina against France on Sunday, the ministry announced on Monday. inside. Forty police including 32 CRS were injured, according to the police source. A large force of 14,000 police and gendarmes had been deployed throughout the country, including 2,750 in Paris, to contain the incidents, which had already occurred after the quarter-final against England and then the semi-final against Morocco. On the Champs-Elysées, the police, targeted by bottle throwing and fireworks, used tear gas.

Messi, the new emir of football

The image surprised: the world champion Lionel Messi slightly slouched when the emir of Qatar hands him then installs on his shoulders a “tail”, a sort of black overcoat with a golden lapel. To be worn of course during photos for posterity, with a golden trophy in hand. Messi seemed as comfortable as us at the hairdresser, when you never know if the cape-bathrobe will be put on in front or behind. The traditional Arab dress is worn in the Middle East for special occasions. It is Adidas, which has spent hundreds of millions to equip the Argentine selection and, precisely, to appear in these historic photos, which must be happy.

sentence of the day

I am not retiring internationally. I want to continue playing for Argentina to honor the title of world champion. This is the title I was missing and here it is.

Lionel Messi, captain of the Albiceleste

picture of the day

Buenos Aires in celebration seen from a drone. It is magic. Argentine press estimates put 1.1 million people on the streets of the capital after the final.

Roomy and provocative Argentines

We know them lodgers, sometimes a little cheats too… Before the match, Argentinian supporters had fun explaining the origins of the French players, judging that they did not really represent France but Africa. It doesn’t matter if they were all born in France… Sunday evening, after their historic and generally deserved success, some players also showed bad taste. First, goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, heroic during the penalty shootout, who received the trophy for best goalkeeper in the competition. To celebrate this distinction, Martinez mimed having sex with the golden hand that serves as a trophy. A sadly unsubversive gesture. “I did it because the French booed me, arrogance doesn’t work with me”, the goalkeeper said on Argentinian radio. Later, the entire locker room was filmed celebrating the victory… Then claiming a minute of silence for Kylian Mbappé. Who had just scored a hat-trick and become the top scorer in the history of the World Cup finals at 23. Can’t wait for Messi’s return to the Parisian locker room.

Zelensky forbidden to speak before the final?

It’s not just Macron who doesn’t want to politicize football (just kidding). Fifa, according to CNN, would have refused to broadcast a video message recorded by Volodomyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president at war with Russia. He wanted to take advantage of the World Cup final to express himself on the stadium’s giant screens. But, true to his line, the president of Fifa Gianni Infantino would have simply banned the broadcast. Already before the start of the World Cup, Infantino had asked the selections to “focus on football”. Silence, let’s play.