The first ever World Cup in an Arab nation is nearing its end.
After completion of a total of 62 matches, Qatar is now preparing for one last event – the World Cup final between Argentina and France.
France, after a hard-fought win to end Morocco's fairytale run, are now up against the Albiceleste in their mission to retain the title, which was achieved by only two teams in history – in 1938 by Italy and 1962 by Pele's Brazil.
Despite playing against a compact Moroccan outfit, motivated by their roaring supporters, Les Bleus, banking on their experience, were clinical to earn their second successive place in the final under Didier Deschamps – only the third individual to win the World Cup both as player and coach after Mario Zagallo of Brazil and Franz Beckenbauer of Germany.
The French coach erupted with joy after the semi-final victory at Al Bayt stadium.
He said, “There's emotion, there's pride. Once again, it was an important step. There's still another one to go. We've been with the players for a month, it's never easy, but it's been a pleasure up to now.”
Preparation for Sunday's final against the two-time winners and 2014 finalist Argentina was already in Deschamps' mind as they have to concentrate on neutralizing the threat of Argentina captain Lionel Messi, who will possibly do everything to eliminate his tag as one of the greatest ever footballer without a World Cup crown.
“We will do everything humanly possible for that not to happen. At the end of the match, someone is getting a third star on their shirt,” said Deschamps.
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“Messi is really shining in this tournament. Four years ago, it was different. He played as a center forward against us, and it was not what I expected at the time. He's more of a two-man team now, with real freedom, and he touches a lot of the ball. He's very fit physically. We'll try to limit his influence, just as the Argentinians will try to limit the influence of some of my players. But Argentina isn't in the same position as it was four years ago.”
This is a huge credit for Deschamps who, despite having some of his best players unavailable in the World Cup, managed to work out a path to the final, despite losing to Tunisia with an experimental squad in the third and final group game.
And with the final approaching, suddenly their star striker Karim Benzema came to contention.
Despite being included in the 25-member French squad initially, the Ballon d'Or winner then tore a thigh muscle and was given a three-week period for recovery just before the World Cup, which potentially ended his hopes of playing in Qatar.
Deschamps though didn't replace the Real Madrid star, who was having a wonderful season till then.
And as the recovery time given by the doctors has passed, the French coach was asked about his availability in the post-match press conference.
“There is a report today that Benzema could come back to Qatar. First of all, is it true? And second of all, if it is, is there any possibility that you would be able to use him for a few minutes if you needed him?” asked a journalist.
“I don't really want to answer that question,” Deschamps replied.
