Why is the Argentina-France match the best in World Cup history?
"All the best magic tricks include three parts, or three chapters, the first part is called"8216666666th"show you something that's all normal, for example: a set of cards, a bird or a man, and he loves him. You test it to make sure that the food is real, it's normal. But of course... it's not exactly that. The second part is called "821666; The magician takes the ordinary objects and makes it extraordinary. Now, you'll find a secret... but you won't be able to find it, because you're actually looking for it. You don't want to know the secret. You just want to be fooled. But come here, you and the audience can't clap the applause. Because doing something that disappears is not enough; The magician needs to bring that thing back. That's why all the magic tricks have the third part, which is the hardest part, which we call "climax."
That is the content of the dialogue at the beginning and also the end of the famous special movie title "The Prestige" with the Vietnamese title "The magician fighting the mind" in 2006 by the talented director Christopher. Nolan, based on the novel of the same name by Christopher Priest. The film follows the rivalry and professional obsession of two magicians Robert Angier and Alfred Borden, with Christopher Nolan's familiar chronological narrative style and unexpected twists.
The three parts "guarantee", "turning point" and "climax" of a super magic trick are also the three chapters of the 2022 World Cup final between Argentina and France.
Guarantee
The guarantee, or the guarantee, is the development of more than an hour of the final, when Argentina completely dominated the game and the number of shots, and of course the goal against France. By the end of the 67th minute, Argentina created nine shots and scored two goals. While, "Les Bleus" did not have a single shot.
During that time, the prospect that Argentina would eventually take the throne in Qatar became obvious. All seem to have no doubts. The whole journey of the World Cup 2022 of Lionel Scaloni's teachers and students became a guarantee; a journey of overcoming difficulties, undeterred and growing through each match.
That maturity is clearly demonstrated through the flexibility of tactical tactics and the use of people of the youngest coach in the tournament.
Against France, Scaloni made all early judgments and predictions offside. Many people predict that Angel Di Maria will start and Juventus players will still be arranged to play on the right wing like from the beginning of the World Cup. Playing Di Maria on the right wing would also be a way to break into the limitations that have been revealed in the defense system on the left wing of France, because Theo Hernandez's tendency to attack is high and the role is almost liberated. from Kylian Mbappe's defensive duties. But no, Scaloni had other thoughts. He arranged Di Maria to play on the left wing, playing the right match of a left-footed winger.
Argentina's entry system is basically 4-3-3, but with Di Maria's tendency to rise and fall depending on the ball-without-ball phase of Di Maria, it sometimes becomes 4-4-2 when defending. While, France kept the same 4-2-3-1 structure, which often became 3-2-5 when organizing attack, with Aurelien Tchouameni as the lowest kicking midfielder, Adrien Rabiot moving the vertical axis, Theo, Hernandez rose very high as a winger and Mbappe now moved freely from the left to the inside, and Antoine Griezmann continued to play a flexible hybrid player moving forward and backward between the front lines. .
When Argentina is out of the ball, Messi as usual is always spared from the responsibility of stepping back to support the defense. This, combined with the fact that Di Maria kicked the left wing, led to a theoretical risk that the right wing of Argentina would be penetrated by Theo and Mbappe linked. At that time, Rodrigo De Paul's role of covering the large space in this wing was extremely important.
But during an hour of rolling in Lusail, France, there were almost exactly two times to create the ball that Theo and Mbappe had the opportunity to combine dangerously.
On the contrary, Scaloni's risky move paid off with an even better result, as Di Maria became a nightmare during his time on the field against the French right wing.
From the start of the tournament until the final, the right wing where the French defense was not tested too much. Therefore, Jules Kounde, who mainly plays at right-back instead of right-back, has not had too much trouble. But before Argentina is a different story.
Argentina's layout means that Messi almost exclusively moves freely into his preferred position, which is the inner corridor, close to the center. Ignoring Messi has never been an easy task for any team or individual. The one-on-one arrangement with him is also a double-edged sword, as the Dutch experienced in the quarterfinals.
For that reason, France's four-man defense always tends to cluster and play close to each other around Messi's position. This also comes from the standing position and the danger in the movement to stab the back of striker Julian Alvarez's defense.
If midfielder Alexis Mac Allister also chooses to move into the gap between the two French midfielders and defenders, then, the "Les Bleus" quartet faces many dangers to keep an eye on. Mac Allister's tendency to move to occupy spaces behind France's midfield occurred frequently during the game.
Didier Deschamps' teachers and students were not loyal to the familiar 4-4-2 mid-range defense system. Instead, they choose 4-3-3 with Griezmann or Rabiot or both often coming up to pressurize. At that time, the area of control in front of Tchouameni's defense was too large.
Due to France's focus on the dangers in the inner and central corridors in the presence of Mac Allister, Julian Alvarez and Messi, Kounde himself was always put in a dilemma. Many times, Barca's defender seems to be in a state of wondering "Should I drift to the border with Di Maria?". If Kounde follows Di Maria closely on the edge, the space between him and Raphael Varane will widen, leading to a large run that hits the back of the defence. It's time for Mac Allister's deep offensive moves.
At this point, the role of right-winger Ousmane Dembele's defensive support is required. But that has never been the job that Kounde's teammate in Barca's shirt is appreciated for.
Not only was Dembele sucked in, but he also easily let Mac Allister slip behind him. And when defending like that, Kounde couldn't be relieved of the pressure. All became the premise for Di Maria to rampage on the right flank of France, becoming a destination on the border in long cross-field passes from the bottom line, or phases to suck the opponent's number to one side and then suddenly change direction. Argentine attack. Kounde constantly had to rotate his body towards the edge and duel with Di Maria. In one day, despite not reaching maximum fitness and being withdrawn from the field after more than an hour, what Di Maria brought to Argentina became history!
Kounde is always in a dilemma with Di Maria on the wing and Mac Allister in front
A remarkable point in the way Argentina's left wing attack organization is also the fact that left-back Nicolas Tagliafico is often directed to move diagonally from the edge to the middle armpit, not only becoming an additional threat in front of him. the French national team, but also played a role in attracting Dembele. This meant that Kounde had to watch out for Mac Allister at times, and at other times for Tagliafico. Di Maria thus has more space to attack.
The blockade, limiting the influence of Messi is never a simple matter. Even as the French defense has always kept an eye on the Argentinian superstar, he still finds gaps in his preferred space. The Tchouameni, Rabiot or even Griezmann who backed down to defend could not lock the number 10. Broadly, the French midfield was overloaded.
A Messi placed in a favorite position, a Di Maria plowing through the left side, a Mac Allister moving into the inner corridor between the two opposing lines, a Tagliafico pinning Dembele, is the familiar picture of 60 minutes. The ball rolled and was also the exact pattern that led to the first penalty of the game, when Di Maria was fouled by Dembele.
Coach Scaloni outlined a plan, putting each individual in the right position for them to shine. But the Argentine players themselves gave a performance of effort and desire.
Enzo Fernandez not only coordinated in the midfield, but also wisely in the running without the ball, sneaking behind the first pressing layer of the French team to open the exit door from the bottom line. In the situation leading up to Argentina's penalty, it was Enzo who made the move, before launching the opening pass.
Mac Allister played well in both attack and defense, when he locked Griezmann in the same area of activity, making France's most important player in the 2022 World Cup invisible in the match. final.
De Paul took care of Argentina's right wing space on both fronts. Mbappe is often hungry for the ball for more than an hour, because he is always under special care by De Paul. When Argentina organized the attack, it was De Paul who rushed up a circuit, ready to catch the rebounds of his teammates.
If Argentina's distinct attack on the left flank is largely shaped by the role of Di Maria, Scaloni's side have always shown potential danger with their grouping pieces across the right. Not only because Messi stands close to this area, not only because De Paul is always ready to rush forward, but also because of the inherent weakness of the French defense on the left wing. The space behind Theo Hernandez and the very wide distance between the AC Milan player and his teammate Dayot Upamecao is no different from an invitation once the opponent is drunk.
Then, the second knife that Argentina launched before the opponent - a knife as sharp as cutting a piece of butter - was the result of the previous warnings. This time, it is a combination of delicate and neat touches from the trio of Messi, Allister and Alvarez, creating the most beautiful transition of the 2022 World Cup.
Both goals Argentina scored in the first half came from scripts that are genuine lessons they created, not single or situational balls.
Turning point
If the way Argentina scored two consecutive goals in more than half an hour of rolling ball was the "guarantee" of the magic trick, giving the feeling of a predetermined, unshakable ending, the subsequent reaction of Deschamps and the French team created so the "turning point".
Two equalizers in 97 seconds from Les Bleus were part two of the magic trick, as they made the Argentine's sense of preparation to celebrate the championship temporarily disappear. Where is the secret?
Many people think that Scaloni's withdrawal from the Di Maria yard is the turning point. The quality of the tackles of Marcos Acuna - who came in - was unmatched by Di Maria. However, when he entered the field, Acuna still did the same job as his predecessor, in the same position. The structure of Argentina does not change when the change of person takes place.
The turning point was the drastic change in personnel, and then the whole system of Deschamps. A World Cup-winning coach is not a novice, and Deschamps proves it.
The first was the fact that he pulled both Dembele and Olivier Giroud off the field before the first half was over. However, the two substitutions, Randal Kolo Muani and Marcus Thuram, have not been immediately effective. The most obvious change right now is Mbappe drifting in, playing in the center of attack and France getting Muani's first shot from the corner.
Next was the 71st minute, although it was clear that this milestone showed that the solution was given a bit late, Deschamps added Kingsley Coman instead of Griezmann, and brought in Eduardo Camavinga at left-back instead of Theo Hernandez.
When there were Muani, Thuram and Coman on the field, and Mbappe from the beginning, the French team switched to a 4-2-4 system. Because Argentina did not have time to react at this time, the four defenders of the South American team fell into a one-on-one position against the attacking quartet of France.
From the 72nd minute on, France added nine of their 10 shots all game. Worth mentioning, from this time to the end of the second extra time, France had 10 situations where the ball was long and high in the area of one-third of the field on the opponent's goal, taking advantage of the large number of attackers compared to the opponent's goal. with the Argentinian defense, as well as the stature and physical condition of these players. While during the previous period, this number was 6 passes.
Both equalizers in official time for France featured the footprints of the players launched by Deschamps. Mbappe's 1-2 shortened goal was a penalty, which came from the speed of the player who came on for Muani to make Nicolas Otamendi foul. And Mbappe's 2-2 equalizing goal was also derived from Coman's phase of winning the ball in Messi's feet, the same moment that De Paul could not get back in time to support Mbappe's blockade defense as he was. from the beginning of the game. The combination with Thuram opened Mbappe's free volley.
The situation led to the equalizing goal of France 2-2.
Climax
The "turning point" is still not enough to create a great magic show, the audience still can't applaud. When the feeling of victory suddenly disappeared, Scaloni teachers and students brought it back. That's when the need for "climax", or "affirmation" prestige.
The beauty of this climax is that Argentina once again took the lead and once again France brought the match to an even position. If Mbappe's 3-3 equalizer from the penalty spot was the result of Gonzalo Montiel - one of Scaloni's late second-time substitutions - letting the ball touch his hand inside the box, the goal made it 3- 2 of Messi also came from the personnel adjustment of the 44-year-old coach.
Lautaro Martinez, when he entered the field of play 21 minutes, had four shots, with clever running situations.
When Scaloni brought on Leandro Paredes, Enzo Fernandez was pushed higher because he was covered by Paredes behind him. Meanwhile, although Lautaro still squanders finishing opportunities in the familiar way from the beginning of the tournament, there is no denying the player's smart moves without the ball. Playing only 21 minutes through the end of extra time, Lautaro is Argentina's second-highest finisher, with four, just behind Messi's five. It was from the combination of Enzo with Lautaro and Messi in a counter-attack that Argentina scored.
The situation led to Argentina's 3-2 goal.
The remaining touches of the climax were Emi Martinez's world-class save from Muani's close-range kick, and the penalty shootout. In that brainstorming series, Messi opened the goods smoothly so that his next teammates also successfully shot, and Emi Martinez continued to make excellent saves as well as use effective psychological tricks again.
The climactic magic show at the Lusail stage ended, the audience clapped and the Argentinian once again appeared on the podium. Argentina returned to the peak of victory not only in the magic show against France, but also the comeback after 36 years of waiting.
