This evening at Lusail stadium, French players were seen looking sad after a close loss to Argentina in the World Cup final, which was a nail-biter.
People have said that the play-off was the best World Cup ending they can remember and one of the best games ever.
But Gonzalo Montiel’s winning penalty shot put an end to France’s heart-pounding attempt to tie with Argentina at 3-3 after extra time.
France was sad tonight after the disappointing way the game ended.
As the chants of “Allez les bleus!” and performances of the national anthem “La Marseillaise” finally stopped, the streets of Paris and other big cities were filled with blue, red, and white confetti.
Eléa Avel, who has been a fan of her national team since the early 1980s, said, “We are all devastated. That was the best World Cup final ever, but our penalties were not good enough.”
“We lost our nerve and maybe weren’t as fit as we should have been,” the 53-year-old woman said while wearing a dark blue cockerel hat and carrying a France flag over her shoulders near the Louvre museum in central Paris.
There were rumours of a virus in the France camp in Qatar, where players said they felt tired and sick, like they had the flu.
Ms. Avel said, “This isn’t an excuse, but the players’ health was obviously a problem.” I remember when we won the World Cup for the first time in 1998 and again in 2018. We are no longer World Champions, though. It makes me feel awful.’
This time, there were only about 6,000 France fans in Qatar to watch the game, but millions were in bars and cafes back home.
People who were watching TV around Argentine, the stop on Line 1 of the Paris Metro that had been renamed France for the day, were among them.
There were a lot of people in Doha, including President Emmanuel Macron, who was seen punching the air every time France scored but then looking sad on the field.
After he tried to comfort Kylian Mbappé, who had scored a hat trick but was on the losing team, the France forward just walked away with a sad face.
“He’s down, and so are we,” said Gilles Durand, 42, who was in the Frog & Rosbif pub in Paris to watch the epic fight.
“It was packed to the gills, but nobody cared,” Mr. Duran said. “There are so many feelings. No matter what the score is, this brings us all together as a country. I really like football!’
Mr. Duran was going to go to the Champs Élysées, which is where the French traditionally celebrate when they win the World Cup, but he changed his mind.
There were about 2,000 police on duty, including units to stop riots with water cannons and armoured cars.
By 7 o’clock, about five people had been arrested for disturbing the peace, like setting off fireworks.
Beyond Allez les Bleus and La Marseillaise. I Will Survive, Bring the Cup Home, and the Eurodance hit Freed from Desire were some of the other songs that people liked to play on their portable sound systems.
Amira Bennani, who is 34 years old and was at the game with her two young children, said, “It’s been a great night for all of us, but we’re done.” We’re no longer World Champions, so congrats to Argentina!’
Jean, a 14-year-old schoolboy from Paris, said, “The first World Cup I really enjoyed was when France won in Russia, and now we lose in Qatar.” I’m so sad, and so is everyone else in France. We were at least in the final. At the end of the game, the team finally woke up, but it wasn’t enough.
