Unless you were Patrice Evra, the Qatar World Cup final was an incredible match. According to the former French international, he was in tears after Argentina’s victory.
The clash was sensational to watch, with Lionel Messi’s team dominating the first half and scoring two goals, courtesy of PSG forward Angel Di Maria. Argentina maintained their two-goal lead until the last ten minutes when Kylian Mbappe scored two goals to bring France back into the game.
After Messi scored in extra-time, the Frenchman managed to net another goal, which sent the game into penalties.
Even though he made a valiant effort to lead France to a second consecutive World Cup victory, it was ultimately Messi and Argentina who emerged as the winners.
Evra was in pain for three days
In an Instagram post after the game, Messi said he had fulfilled his dream.
“So many times I dreamed it, so much I wanted it that I still don’t fall, I can’t believe it,”he said.
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While the attacker experienced elation, it was an emotional rollercoaster for Evra.
The former Manchester United left-back achieved great success at the club level, winning five Premier League titles and a Champions League.
However, he was not able to replicate that success with his national team.
Despite not playing in Qatar, Evra still felt the agony of France’s defeat.
“I watched the match live and I cried,” he toldRMC.
“I did not expect it. France-Argentina, I tell you the truth, I went to my car and I cried. For three days I was in pain.
“And I said to myself ‘Patrice, I know you love the France team’… but it hurt me so much.
“And then, frankly, hats off to the France team.”
The former French international went on to talk about the manner in which his country lost the final, sparing a thought for Mbappe’s efforts on the night.
He said: “Kylian [Mbappe] scores a hat-trick. You score a hat-trick, three goals in the final and you don’t win the final. You see it was incredible!
“And even this match, how did it go with two to zero. I said to myself ‘that’s it’.
“What was going on… It was catastrophic. And you come back, boom two by two. And then after you lose. There was too much emotion, too much emotion.”
France and Argentina enjoy their first games since final
Both national teams played their first games in the last two weeks since their encounter in the final, and both teams won both games.
France managed to score four goals against the Netherlands, and Benjamin Pavard scored a stunning goal in a 1-0 victory over the Republic of Ireland.
🇫🇷😮💨 Benjamin Pavard only scores screamers… pic.twitter.com/v8DOPUuQMD
— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) March 29, 2023
In the meantime, Argentina played their first games in front of a home crowd since winning the World Cup, and the celebrations were unbelievable.
The team defeated Panama 2-0, and even before the game started, players were seen in tears of joy.