the top of the Franco-English rivalry – Liberation

Vomit, Tournoi de France 1997, Napoleon… The match between the French team and the English selection this Saturday evening in the quarter-finals of the Qatari World Cup, is based on an ancestral rivalry.

The Blues have never overcome the Three Lions in the World Cup. In 1966, they fell to Gordon Banks, Bobby Charlton and the others. In 1982, in the furnace of Bilbao, Platini, asphyxiated, could do nothing. And 2022 for this quarter-final of the World Cup in Qatar? Saturday night’s match is part of a rivalry without clashes – like Sevilla 1982 for Germany or Berlin 2006 for Italy – but rather built on diplomatic-historical relations between the two countries. However, the contest remains very real.

The most decisive vomit

The first match of Euro 2004 opposes two flashy generations, between Zidane, Vieira, Makelele, Henry on one side; Scholes, Beckham, Gerrard and Rooney on the other. The Three Lions have been leading since the 38th minute, with three minutes left in added time, England saw Barthez save a penalty earlier. The No. 10 of the Blues is 25 meters from the English goals for a free kick. Jacques Santini, coach at the time, told L’Equipe: “Zidane approaches and, like in chess, these kind of players always have the whites, they are the ones who decide. He puts the ball down, momentum and suddenly, Zidane’s magic…” Nets 1-1. Two minutes later, goalkeeper David James tackles Henry in the box, penalty. It is for number 10 of the Blues, who discreetly releases a vomit by placing the ball. The «magie Zidane» operates: he shoots to the left, as always. Nets, 2-1, final whistle.

Advantage France

The King of England is French

The Premier League is the holy of holies of the national championships – the grass is greener there than elsewhere, the tempo of the game quick, the transfer windows rain down the billions. English clubs have won the Champions League fourteen times, only one for Ligue 1. At the top, there remains a player, crowned in 2020 by a poll in the English daily Mirror and he is French: Thierry Henry. In eight years, at the turn of the century (with a mini-freelance in 2012), Henry became the top scorer in Arsenal history with 230 pawns in 377 games. Statued near the Emirates Stadium, the club’s enclosure, he becomes the first player inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame in 2021, along with Alan Shearer. Henry I, King of England (1999-2007).

Advantage France

Kylian Mbappe vs Kylian Mbappe

Kylian Mbappé has a second cousin (the son of his father’s cousin, Wilfried). Her name ? Kylian Mbappe. The 16-year-old, born in France, lives in Leicester, in central England. He plays left-back at Friar Lane & Epworth FC, an obscure regional club, and not a centre-forward at PSG. Found by the Sun, he says : “I am the real Kylian Mbappé. My father and my family all support France but I am behind England. All my friends are crazy about the Three Lions. Kylian Mbappé therefore likes baked beans and Greggs, an ultra-popular chain across the Channel that sells sausage rolls with an indecent Nutriscore. Of course, Kylian Mbappé (pronounced with a Victorian accent) prefers “sausage rolls to croque-monsieur”. It does not mean anything.

Equally

Starting-block or starting block?

Kyle Walker (flashed at 37 km / h against Senegal), must take charge of the Mbappé file (36 km / h against Poland). Rather technically fine rear, Walker – “walker” in VF – is above all considered the most sprinter, enough to try to follow the supersonic accelerations of the French striker. On Wednesday, in front of the press, the Manchester City player warned that it will not be necessary “respect too much” the French striker. Understand: the charms will be paid for in soles on the ankles. Walker sees clearly: “He’s a fantastic player and in great form, so it won’t be an easy task. But we always want to play against the best and this is one of the best if not the best right now. Et : “Stopping him is easier said than done.” That’s the problem.

Advantage France

And Wembley sang the Marseillaise

Four days after the terrorist attacks that killed 130 people in Paris and around the Stade de France, the Blues travel to England on November 17, 2015. Wembley, the national stadium, vibrates with emotions. Some newspapers across the Channel broadcast the words of the Marseillaise in their pages. The stadium’s giant screens also display them. A giant blue-white-red tifo is deployed in the stands. The French anthem succeeds the God Save the Queen, and the 70,000 spectators, mostly English, then sing the Marseillaise in unison. Then the players gather in the center circle and Wembley, for a minute, stops breathing, in the most roaring silence in the world.

Advantage England

Napoleon and the Battle of Pershing

“It is under these auspices that the meeting will take place which will once again seal the indissoluble bonds of friendship which unite the English people today.” As the story goes the Auto newspaper, the eighth meeting in history between France and England (for seven victories for the Three Lions), is held in a separate context. The match was played on May 5, 1921, the day of the centenary of Napoleon’s death, at the Pershing stadium, in the Bois de Vincennes. The day before and the same day, commemorations take place at Notre-Dame, at the Hôtel des Invalides and in Ajaccio. The Little Parisian describes the match as the “most sensational of the season”. The French Federation asks that the match be played under the patronage of the Committee of the centenary of the death of Napoleon. Fans break down barriers to access the stadium and 40,000 people see the blue selection overcome the men in white (2-1). For the first time, France wins a football match against the inventors of the game.

Advantage France

The Tournoi de France is English

Since 1966, England without a title? fake news. The current coach Gareth Southgate knows this since he lifted, player, the real last trophy of the Crown. On French lands. Prequel to the World Cup, the Tournoi de France, a year before the French World Cup, was held in the summer of 1997. Four teams competed there, the host country, England, Brazil and Italy. A single pool, at the end of which the leading team wins the trophy. The English beat the French and the Italians thanks to Shearer in particular, and their defeat against the Brazilians does not change anything. They finish first. Les Bleus will be world champions a year later.

Advantage England