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England manager Gareth Southgate has said that a lack of belief may have been the reason why his men failed to beat France at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
England took on France in the quarterfinals. The Three Lions went a goal behind in the 17th minute, with Aurelien Tchouameni putting the two-time winners in front. Harry Kane equalised from the spot in the 54th minute, making the most of the positive spell his team were enjoying.
Southgate’s side were in the driver’s seat in the second half, but an Olivier Giroud strike in the 78th minute restored France’s advantage. With six minutes left, England won another penalty, but this time Kane failed to convert, leading to their elimination.
In an interview with ITV, Southgate looked back on the clash, trying to find the reason for England’s disappointing fate. He said that his players never believed they could beat the then world champions, adding that England should have won the matchup:
“The performance against France has shown the players if they didn't believe it before, which I still wonder whether they truly believed that before the game, but coming off the field, they know that is a game they could win and should have won,” Southgate said.
England had more shots (16-8), more possession (58-42%), played more passes (503-377) and won more corners (5-2) than Farnce. Had they been a tad more clinical, they might have walked away with the result they theoretically deserved.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic says Emiliano Martinez won't win FIFA World Cup again
Swedish legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic slammed Argentina players for their behaviour at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, saying that the current crop won't win the coveted trophy again. Argentina beat France 4-2 on penalties (3-3 after extra time) to win the FIFA World Cup for the third time.
While most Argentine players exhibited aggression and participated in mockery, goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez took it up a notch. He played questionable mind games during the penalty shootout and then posed in a crude manner after winning the Golden Glove.
Ibrahimovic was turned off by some Argentine players’ behaviour and said that they won't win the World Cup again.
“I'm not worried about (Messi); I'm worried about the others in (the) Argentina (squad) because they will not win anything more. Messi has won everything, and he will be remembered, but the rest who behaved badly, we can't respect that,” Ibrahimovic said (via FourFourTwo)."
He continued:
“This is coming from me, speaking as a top professional player: that is a sign that you will win once, but you won't win again. You don't win like that.”
Argentina also find themselves in the midst of a FIFA investigation. The governing body is investigating objectionable behaviour by their players during the final.
