France remains firmly on course to win what would be its second straight World Cup and third in its history. Brazil, with five titles, and Germany and Italy, both with four, have overtaken him on the list of competition winners, but the ‘bleus’ has been one of the most frequent applicants over the past 40 years.
Wednesday’s match against Morocco will be the seventh semifinal of a World Cup that France will play. Only Germany (12) and Brazil (8) have achieved more, but in the eleven editions held since Spain 1982 the ‘bleus’ has been planted six times and only the Germans (7) are ahead.
The first, in Sweden 1958
France debuted in the semifinals of a World Cup in Sweden in 1958, when they lost to champions Brazil (5-2) and finished third by defeating FRG (6-3) in the consolation match.
Gaul also lost the next two semifinals in which they participated. A quarter of a century, 24 years, they had to wait to get that far. It was in Spain in 1982 and then they lost on penalties to RFA (3-3 and 5-4) in a memorable match where Sánchez Pizjuán from Seville took the stage.
In the next edition, in Mexico, France could not get revenge on the Germans and, again in the semifinals, they bent the knee 2-0.
After three losses, three wins
The ‘bleus’ learned their lesson and advanced to their next three World Cup semifinals. In 1998, as hosts, they beat Croatia (2-1) with a brace from Lilian Thuram before scoring their first star in the final against Brazil (3-0).
At Germany 2006, France defeated Portugal (0-1) in the semifinal, thanks to Zinedine Zidane’s penalty, but they were unable to defend the title in the eventful final against Italy on penalties (1-1 and 4-3). It was the famous last game of Zidane’s career, sent off for headbutting Marco Materazzi.
Umtiti beat Belgium in 2018
In Russia 2018, Samuel Umtiti, by finishing a corner, defeated Belgium in the semifinals (1-0) and paved the way for France to its second world title against Croatia (4-2).
On Wednesday, Morocco will take on a France that is looking to confirm its status as the favorite in its seventh World Cup semifinal. Africans do it for the first time while on the other table it is the fifth for Argentina and third for Croatia.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
