Today’s final match between France & Argentina was in my opinion the most satisfying World Cup final I’ve watched for years; plenty of drama, great football and incredible passion. Though the better team won in this instant, France has very little to complain about with the brilliant talent and spirit within the team; note that I was only able to watch from the 2nd half onwards when they were already 2 goals down. The only thing I did NOT understand was why Antoine Griezmann a major play maker for the team was substituted in the 2nd half; I don’t get that part despite the 2 goals France scored after this change. The man of the match for me were 2 players; Messi of course and Mbappe who was truly incredible. The star of the match again in my opinion is President Macron and the passion he’s shown before; during and after the match. The man seemed completely drained when the camera captured him during the drama that transpired at the end of the game; now I completely understand why it would have been close to impossible to keep him away from personally attending the finals in Qatar as some wanted, including myself to be honest. After the match I thought; wouldn’t be great to see him on the pitch consoling the French team after the match considering their brilliant performance and to my shock this is precisely what he did. Truly an incredible person and all respect to him at this moment; I may disagree with some of his foreign policy decisions but I’ve always respected/admired this man.
As for the black horse of this entire tournament it is without doubt Morocco who have inspired an entire continent; well done Morocco and I hope you continue to build on the incredible success of this tournament in reaching the semi’s and most importantly this being based on superb performance.
Finally let me say that the decision to extend Gareth Southgate’s contract in coaching the England team to beyond 2024 is the right decision because I believe – as many do – that he and his team have got plenty to give in the coming years based on the performance we’ve seen in this tournament.
Anyway, hope you enjoyed the match as I have and hopefully the next World Cup would be less controversial and even more exciting.