Moved by the dance of "the children of the Wind God"
(Baonghean.vn) - Not the German tanks or the Samba dancers on the field, but Mbappe and the "children of the Wind God" were the first to appear at the 2018 World Cup final. The French boys mesmerized fans when they "performed" with the ball in the match against the "Red Devils".
The last time France beat Belgium at a World Cup was exactly 32 years ago, when most of the players in blue were not yet born. The 3-1 victories in the round of 16 at the 1938 World Cup and the 4-2 victories in the third-place match at the 1986 World Cup were only heard of in books.
Mbappe - a 19-year-old French boy with sprints reaching 38 km/h is melting the hearts of many French fans.
“Children of the Wind”
Striker Giroud has yet to score, but France's Griezmann and Mbappe have scored 3 goals together. The famous midfield of the French team including Pogba, Kanté, Matuidi, Mbappé, Griezmann is making this World Cup exciting.
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| Who will stop Mbappe - the son of the Wind God from scoring? Photo: FIFA |
If the two midfielders Pogba and Kanté act as "sweepers" to intercept the top Belgian football technicians like De Bruyne and Eden Hazard, then Matuidi, Mbappé and Griezmann are the arrows aiming for goalkeeper Courtois' goal.
De Bruyne, Eden Hazard tormented the midfield of Brazil, the number 1 candidate of this tournament but they could not do that with the French boys. Matuidi returned from the penalty card and moved around the middle of the field when attacking the students of coach Deschamps playing with a 4-2-3-1 formation but when losing the ball, they changed to 4-3-2-1. It was not the French midfielders but Eden Hazard who was the yellow carded player of the match because his teammate lost the ball in the central area.
Going into the semi-finals, the Belgian players were not "rookies", they had world-class stars, but facing a young, creative squad of coach Deschamps, they had to lose.
With an early goal from the beginning of the second half, Mbappe's contributions, Pogba's twists and turns made the match truly satisfying for the most demanding audience. A match that converged all the elements: goals, delicate technical moves, and intense collisions between the world's top stars.
When the “Red Devils” attack the middle, the two central defenders Varane and Umtiti, along with Pogba and Kanté, form two mobile defensive layers. Dembele and Lukaku are big, strong Belgian players who play aggressively, but Coach Deschamps’ students are not far behind.
They always play close, do not hesitate to collide and in fact Fellaini, Witsel, De Bruyne are always at a disadvantage. On the contrary, when the ball is at the feet of the "sons of the Wind God", the students of coach Roberto Martinez often have to commit fouls.
Full of surprises
While the Belgian team's 3-man defense of Alderweireld, Kompany, Chadli focused on Mbappé, Giroud, Griezmann, the goal came from a center back. In a corner kick situation, the tallest player of the Belgian team, Fellaini, could not keep up with Umtiti, allowing him to head the ball diagonally to score.
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| The French have begun to dream of a second Golden Cup. Photo: CNN |
A top-notch match but the goal unexpectedly came from a set-piece, even more surprising when the scorer was playing in the back line. Even more surprising when Fellaini, who was on the field as a “high ball specialist”, let the opponent escape in a fairly simple situation on the field.
The decisive goal against Belgium was Samuel Umtiti's third for the national team, and the first time the Barcelona centre-back has scored in an official match. Umtiti's previous two goals came in friendlies against England and Italy.
The 24-year-old rock is also the third French defender to have the honor of scoring at the 2018 World Cup, after his two teammates Benjamin Pavard and Raphael Varane. That shows that the "sons of the wind god" are very diverse in scoring.
Captain of the French team that won the World Cup 20 years ago, Didier Deschamps is now the head coach of Les Bleus. The 49-year-old military leader became the fourth person to reach the final as both a player and a coach.
The elegant man who led France to the final at the Luzhniki Stadium This Sunday will be the third time in Les Bleus' history that they have reached the final, and the first time in 12 years. People have begun to look at the players in blue and Didier Deschamps with admiration.