GOLF | Page 6 CCYCLINGYCLING | Page 7 Kim ends Team Sky long wait worried for with John Froome as Deere title Alps loom Tuesday, July 17, 2018 FOOTBALL Dhul-Qa’da 4, 1439 AH Ronaldo targets GULF TIMES Champions League glory at Juventus SPORT Page 4 LES BLEUS ARRIVE TO ECSTATIC RECEPTION French team paraded down the Champs Elysees SPOTLIGHT avenue, President Macron hosts reception Mbappe’s exploits make me want to get back playing, says Pele DPA Moscow razilian football legend Pele is worried that his exploits in the game are going to be eclipsed Bby 19-year-old striker Kylian Mbappe — who scored as France France’s defender Raphael Varane (C) holds the trophy as he celebrates with teammates on the roof of a bus while parading down the Champs-Elysee avenue in Paris yesterday. beat Croatia 4-2 to win their sec- ond World Cup in Moscow on Reuters Saturday. Paris Mahjoubi, the secretary of state for So worried, in fact, that he digital aff airs, whose parents emigrat- joked that he’s considering a re- ed from Morocco. turn to playing — at 77 years of undreds of thousands of ec- “We’re not still celebrating ‘Black- age. static French fans celebrated Blanc-Beur’, we’re celebrating broth- “If Kylian keeps equalling my the return of their World Cup erhood,” he said of the current team. records like this I may have to winning football team on yes- For Macron, who became president dust my boots off again,” Pele Hterday, jumping and chanting “We Are last year at the age of 39, leading his said, after Mbappe emulated his The Champions” as their bus paraded political movement to victory against previously unique feat of scoring down the Champs Elysees before a spe- the odds, the success is also likely to in the fi nal as a teenager. cial presidential reception. have positive repercussions after a At 19, Mbappe is older than “Les Bleus”, a dynamic, young team slump in the polls amid a host of eco- Pele was when he managed the that won an open, fast-paced fi nal 4-2 nomic reforms. feat. The Brazilian was just 17 with Croatia in Moscow, appeared at The Paris metro system got into the when he scored a brace against the Elysee palace, where they burst celebratory mood, announcing the Sweden in 1958 to help his coun- into a spontaneous rendition of the “La names of a number of stations were try to its fi rst World Cup. Marseillaise” national anthem with being briefl y changed to honour the The next teenager to score a President Emmanuel Macron and his players and coach, Didier Deschamps. double in a single World Cup wife. Notre-Dame des Champs sta- match? Mbappe, of course, in “Thank you for having made us tion was relabelled “Notre Didier France’s 4-3 win over Argentina proud,” Macron told the players in the Deschamps”, and Victor Hugo was in the round of 16. With Mbappe presidential palace’s gardens. “Never switched to “Victor Hugo Lloris” after in their team, it’s no wonder the forget where you come from: all the the captain and goalkeeper. French are already anticipating a clubs across France that trained you.” Yesterday morning, the after-eff ects third World Cup success, allow- French media spent the day lauding French President Emmanuel Macron poses with France soccer team captain Hugo Lloris holding the trophy, coach Didier of Sunday night’s frenetic revelry were ing them to add a further star to the team’s accomplishments. Deschamps and players before a reception to honour at the Elysee Palace in Paris. still visible. A number of smashed their jersey. More than 300,000 people fi lled the windows, an overturned car and graf- “He’s capable of bringing Champs Elysees, the area around the ers.” Newspapers hailed a second World tors playing up the fact the squad, the as it remains wary of the threat. fi ti scrawled here and there, including home a third star in 2022, 2026 or Arc de Triomphe and the Place de la Cup for France, after their fi rst victory second-youngest in the competition, When France won its fi rst World Cup the phrase “Liberte, Egalite, Mbappe”, 2030,” the newspaper Le Parisien Concorde on Sunday night, partying on home soil in 1998. includes many with central and north 20 years ago, with Zinedine Zidane its a reference to the national motto “Lib- wrote on Monday, adding that into the early hours, singing the Mar- “History Made” declared sports African heritage, even if all but two talisman and playmaker, the team was erte, Egalite, Fraternite”. Mbappe had entered “the pan- seillaise, setting off fi recrackers and daily L’Equipe. Photos of superstars were born in France. referred to as “Black-Blanc-Beur” And it is not just the capital that has theon.” The young man from the blaring horns until the sun rose. Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann France has suff ered years of tension (Black-White-Arab), a positive refer- been consumed by football fever. From Parisian banlieue of Bondy will “We had so much fun last night, the and Paul Pogba, as well as shots of and self-examination since a series ence to its diverse ethnic make-up. Nice and Marseille in the south to Lille have to go some if he is to put Pele city was full of joy, so much celebra- the team holding aloft and kissing the of attacks by Islamist gunmen during But some were keen to put that in the north, Nantes in the west and in the shade, though. The Brazil- tion,” a woman dressed in red, white trophy in the pouring rain, dominated 2015 that left more than 140 dead, in- phrase to one side, seeing in it a sense scores of towns and cities in between, ian played at four World Cups, and blue who had made her way out to coverage. cluding 89 killed in the Bataclan thea- of separateness, even if it was meant TV stations were full of images of red, winning three — in 1958, 1962 Charles de Gaulle airport told BFM TV. The victory has helped foster a sense tre in Paris. In some small way, the positively. white and blue clad fans singing and and 1970 — and scored 77 goals “All we want is a wave from the play- of national unity, with commenta- World Cup has helped lift the nation “We’re not in 1998,” said Mounir dancing in France’s streets and squares. in 92 internationals. Gulf Times 2 Tuesday, July 17, 2018 FOOTBALL SPOTLIGHT Deschamps’ win a triumph for substance over style They are the first team to score four times in the final since Pele’s great Brazil side beat Italy 4-1 in Mexico in 1970, and the match was the highest-scoring World Cup final since England’s 4-2 victory against West Germany in 1966 AFP Moscow idier Deschamps’ France side have not always won admirers for their way of playing at this World Cup, but that will not Dmatter to the hundreds of thousands celebrating on the streets back home after their fi nal victory over Croatia. France won 4-2 at the Luzhniki Sta- dium in Moscow on Sunday, with star men Antoine Griezmann, Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappe all scoring as they lifted the trophy for the second time in their history. They are the fi rst team to score four times in the fi nal since Pele’s great Bra- zil side beat Italy 4-1 in Mexico in 1970, and the match was the highest-scoring World Cup fi nal since England’s 4-2 victory against West Germany back in 1966. It was achieved with a brilliantly talented set of players, embodied by 19-year-old Mbappe, not even born when France last won it in 1998 and now the youngest player to score in a World Cup fi nal since Pele in 1958. He had already lit up this tourna- ment with his electric performance against Argentina, scoring twice in his side’s 4-3 win in Kazan in the last 16. However, these two high-scoring encounters do not provide an accurate picture of the way Deschamps’ team have played in this competition. Deschamps became France’s longest-serving coach dur- ing this tournament, and the progress has been constant since he took charge in 2012 In their fi ve other games they scored a total of six goals, including two Griezmann penalties and one own goal. They were also involved in the only goalless draw of the tournament, against Denmark in their last group outing. Against Croatia, Griezmann’s pen- The Patrouille de France jets perform as they trail smoke in the colours of the French national flag while flying over the Arch of Triumph (Arc de Triomphe) near the Champs Elysee avenue as supporters alty that gave them a 2-1 lead in the welcome players of the French national football team in Paris yesterday. At bottom French President Emmanuel Macron (R) with coach Didier Deschamps. 38th minute came from their fi rst shot on goal of the game, with their opener ny. This time, while the Germans went possession were practically all punished a Mario Mandzukic own goal. France out in the group stage, France went all by quick attacks. fi nished with just 39 % of the posses- the way. “In football if you know how to defend sion. Deschamps has always been a win- well, you can be sure that you will get at With a shrug, Deschamps asked af- ner, going back to his playing days when least two or three chances on the coun- ter the game: “Are France beautiful he captained France to glory at the 1998 ter-attack or from set-pieces.” champions? Well, we are world cham- World Cup and Euro 2000 and won the He added: “Against Denmark we were pions and will be on top of the world for Champions League with Marseille and not very nice to watch.