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"title": "Mental strength, moments of brilliance – how France reached the World Cup final",
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"contents": "<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kylian Mbappe scored five goals in his first three matches while Olivier Giroud, who owes his place in the starting line-up to Karim Benzema’s last-minute injury, became France’s all-time goal scorer as he launched the campaign with the first goal of their inaugural 4-1 win against Australia. He also netted the winner in the 2-1 victory against England in the quarterfinal.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here is France’s path to the final:</span>\r\n<h4>Group-stage match 1: France 4-1 Australia</h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">France started the tournament on the back of a dismal Nations League campaign and fell behind early on but quickly recovered as Adrien Rabiot and Giroud put them ahead at halftime.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They lost left back Lucas Hernandez for the rest of the competition to a serious knee injury.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Giroud was at it again in the second half before Mbappe opened his account in Qatar with a career sixth goal in the World Cup to give Les Bleus much-needed momentum.</span>\r\n<h4>Group-stage match 2: France 2-1 Denmark</h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Having lost their last two games against Denmark in June and September, France were facing their first real test of the tournament.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mbappe tapped in the opener in the 61st minute of a tense encounter, seven minutes before Andreas Christiansen headed home the equaliser.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mbappe, however, bundled the ball over the line with four minutes left from Antoine Griezmann’s cross, sending France into the last 16 with one game to spare.</span>\r\n<h4>Group-stage match 3: France 0-1 Tunisia</h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Coach Didier Deschamps made nine changes for the match as his team were almost guaranteed top spot in Group D.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The fringe players failed to live up to expectations as Wahbi Khazri scored the only goal before the hour. Substitute Griezmann equalised in stoppage time, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside after a VAR review initiated after the final whistle.</span>\r\n\r\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Read in </span></i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Daily Maverick</span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: “</span></i><a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2022-12-15-goalless-griezmann-happy-to-put-in-hard-yards-for-france/\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Goalless Griezmann happy to put in hard yards for France</span></i></a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">”</span></i>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The FFF lodged a complaint with Fifa to have the goal reinstated but the governing body rejected it.</span>\r\n<h4>Last 16: France 3-1 Poland</h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After France went through a brief rough patch, Giroud opened the scoring to become France’s all-time top scorer on 52, one ahead of Thierry Henry.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Les Bleus sealed it when Mbappe netted a couple of last-gasp screamers – thumping the first shot under the bar before firing the second into the far top corner for his fourth and fifth goal of the tournament.</span>\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n<strong>Visit <a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za?utm_source=direct&utm_medium=in_article_link&utm_campaign=homepage\"><em>Daily Maverick's</em> home page</a> for more news, analysis and investigations</strong>\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Poland reduced the arrears with a stoppage-time Robert Lewandowski penalty.</span>\r\n<h4>Quarterfinal: England 1-2 France</h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">France prevailed after a nerve-racking encounter. They went ahead thanks to a 25m Aurelien Tchouameni strike, but cracked early in the second half, with Harry Kane converting a penalty after a Tchouameni foul.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Les Bleus appeared to be on the ropes at times, but they soaked up the pressure and made their experience count when Giroud’s header from Griezmann’s pinpoint cross restored the advantage.</span>\r\n\r\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1495750\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/inset-2-1.jpg\" alt=\"england france kane\" width=\"720\" height=\"453\" /> England captain Harry Kane after missing an equalising penalty in the quarterfinal against France. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Ronald Wittek)</p>\r\n\r\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1495751\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/main-1.jpg\" alt=\"england france world cup\" width=\"720\" height=\"360\" /> Harry Kane (left) and Jude Bellingham of England react to their quarterfinal loss to France. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Rolex dela Pena)</p>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kane had a golden chance to cancel it out with a late penalty, only for the striker’s effort to fly over the bar.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“We got a bit lucky although we gave away two penalties. We kept our lead with our hearts and our guts,” said Deschamps.</span>\r\n<h4>Semifinal: France 2-0 Morocco</h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">France abandoned possession early, knowing too well that Morocco revelled in defending deep and looking to hurt their opponents on the break.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They went ahead on five minutes thanks to Theo Hernandez’s high-hooked volley, forcing their opponents to take the initiative. Morocco played boldly and would have deserved to level before the break.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But France defended with cool heads as Ubrahima Konate proved unbeatable at centre-back despite being named in the starting 11 at the last minute following Dayot Upamecano’s illness.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Giroud could also have scored before the break but he hit the post in the 17th minute.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It was all over in the 79th minute, however, when Randal Kolo Muani beat Yassine Bounou from close range after some great Mbappe work in the box, only 44 seconds after coming on as a substitute.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">France will play Argentina, who are also looking to win the World Cup for the third time, in Sunday’s final at Lusail Stadium. </span><b>Reuters/DM</b>",
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"description": "<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kylian Mbappe scored five goals in his first three matches while Olivier Giroud, who owes his place in the starting line-up to Karim Benzema’s last-minute injury, became France’s all-time goal scorer as he launched the campaign with the first goal of their inaugural 4-1 win against Australia. He also netted the winner in the 2-1 victory against England in the quarterfinal.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here is France’s path to the final:</span>\r\n<h4>Group-stage match 1: France 4-1 Australia</h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">France started the tournament on the back of a dismal Nations League campaign and fell behind early on but quickly recovered as Adrien Rabiot and Giroud put them ahead at halftime.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They lost left back Lucas Hernandez for the rest of the competition to a serious knee injury.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Giroud was at it again in the second half before Mbappe opened his account in Qatar with a career sixth goal in the World Cup to give Les Bleus much-needed momentum.</span>\r\n<h4>Group-stage match 2: France 2-1 Denmark</h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Having lost their last two games against Denmark in June and September, France were facing their first real test of the tournament.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mbappe tapped in the opener in the 61st minute of a tense encounter, seven minutes before Andreas Christiansen headed home the equaliser.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mbappe, however, bundled the ball over the line with four minutes left from Antoine Griezmann’s cross, sending France into the last 16 with one game to spare.</span>\r\n<h4>Group-stage match 3: France 0-1 Tunisia</h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Coach Didier Deschamps made nine changes for the match as his team were almost guaranteed top spot in Group D.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The fringe players failed to live up to expectations as Wahbi Khazri scored the only goal before the hour. Substitute Griezmann equalised in stoppage time, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside after a VAR review initiated after the final whistle.</span>\r\n\r\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Read in </span></i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Daily Maverick</span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: “</span></i><a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2022-12-15-goalless-griezmann-happy-to-put-in-hard-yards-for-france/\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Goalless Griezmann happy to put in hard yards for France</span></i></a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">”</span></i>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The FFF lodged a complaint with Fifa to have the goal reinstated but the governing body rejected it.</span>\r\n<h4>Last 16: France 3-1 Poland</h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After France went through a brief rough patch, Giroud opened the scoring to become France’s all-time top scorer on 52, one ahead of Thierry Henry.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Les Bleus sealed it when Mbappe netted a couple of last-gasp screamers – thumping the first shot under the bar before firing the second into the far top corner for his fourth and fifth goal of the tournament.</span>\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n<strong>Visit <a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za?utm_source=direct&utm_medium=in_article_link&utm_campaign=homepage\"><em>Daily Maverick's</em> home page</a> for more news, analysis and investigations</strong>\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Poland reduced the arrears with a stoppage-time Robert Lewandowski penalty.</span>\r\n<h4>Quarterfinal: England 1-2 France</h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">France prevailed after a nerve-racking encounter. They went ahead thanks to a 25m Aurelien Tchouameni strike, but cracked early in the second half, with Harry Kane converting a penalty after a Tchouameni foul.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Les Bleus appeared to be on the ropes at times, but they soaked up the pressure and made their experience count when Giroud’s header from Griezmann’s pinpoint cross restored the advantage.</span>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1495750\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"720\"]<img class=\"size-full wp-image-1495750\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/inset-2-1.jpg\" alt=\"england france kane\" width=\"720\" height=\"453\" /> England captain Harry Kane after missing an equalising penalty in the quarterfinal against France. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Ronald Wittek)[/caption]\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1495751\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"720\"]<img class=\"size-full wp-image-1495751\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/main-1.jpg\" alt=\"england france world cup\" width=\"720\" height=\"360\" /> Harry Kane (left) and Jude Bellingham of England react to their quarterfinal loss to France. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Rolex dela Pena)[/caption]\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kane had a golden chance to cancel it out with a late penalty, only for the striker’s effort to fly over the bar.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“We got a bit lucky although we gave away two penalties. We kept our lead with our hearts and our guts,” said Deschamps.</span>\r\n<h4>Semifinal: France 2-0 Morocco</h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">France abandoned possession early, knowing too well that Morocco revelled in defending deep and looking to hurt their opponents on the break.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They went ahead on five minutes thanks to Theo Hernandez’s high-hooked volley, forcing their opponents to take the initiative. Morocco played boldly and would have deserved to level before the break.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But France defended with cool heads as Ubrahima Konate proved unbeatable at centre-back despite being named in the starting 11 at the last minute following Dayot Upamecano’s illness.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Giroud could also have scored before the break but he hit the post in the 17th minute.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It was all over in the 79th minute, however, when Randal Kolo Muani beat Yassine Bounou from close range after some great Mbappe work in the box, only 44 seconds after coming on as a substitute.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">France will play Argentina, who are also looking to win the World Cup for the third time, in Sunday’s final at Lusail Stadium. </span><b>Reuters/DM</b>",
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England captain Harry Kane after missing an equalising penalty in the quarterfinal against France. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Ronald Wittek)
Harry Kane (left) and Jude Bellingham of England react to their quarterfinal loss to France. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Rolex dela Pena)