Asking people for who they thought would win this game, it was split. Some thought Germany would be too good for the French shaky defence and others believed the home crowd would spur on their team to victory. In the end, the Velodrome was a fotress that worked for France who did what they had to for the win.
That crowd though...wow.
The worst thing people can do is point to the moment that Schweinsteiger "handballed" which gave France the penalty as being what determined the game. It was definitely a huge moment where Germany were in "control" but by no means was that the reason why the Germans were beat.
After France started great, pushing men forward, finding openings with Griezmann darting into tight spaces and combining with Giroud; then came Germany. A lot of people would point to Germany being superior to France for most of the first half, but that's not how it was. They may have had a lot of the possession, with great approach play, Ozil being the orchestrator in midfield; but there was no penetration.
It's all well and good having the ball, but if you don't play it through to a teammate in the 18-yard box, or unleash a shot that tests the keeper, then all you have won is possession. Last I checked, possession doesn't win games, goals do. Germany controlled the midfield, but they never really looked like scoring in that first half. Without the presence of Gomez, there was no real threat in the danger area and the big man showed why he was important to Germany.
The penalty award was fortuitous and Rizzoli, who's one of the best referees in the game, was far too harsh in such a high-profile game to award that. Perhaps some slight revenge for the Germans beating his country in the quarter-final? I'll leave that to the conspiracy theorists to figure out. I just didn't see any reason for him to award that penalty because it wasn't an obvious handball, and it could easily have been interpreted as a mistake.
That's football, and Germany now had a whole half to get back in the game. Again, without the presence of a striker, France were good. The defence that performed well for them in the previous game were actually less troubled against Germany than they were when they faced our Viking friends. Koscielny and Umtiti did their jobs very well, with the latter being far more dependable than Rami. He should now expect to start the grand finale on Sunday.
Where the match was truly lost for Germany was their own undoing. With the leader in defence and one of the best players on the pitch, Boateng, going off injured; in came Mustafi who had to now keep things firm alongside Howedes. All it took was for one defensive mistake that Pogba pounced upon, and showing he's got some samba footwork, he disposed of Mustafi and delivered a cross that was fumbled by Neuer and dispatched by Griezmann.
Cue the French version of the Hotline Bling. Drake would be proud.
Game over. Germany kept on fighting bravely to get back in the game and kept huffing and puffing and had some good chances, with one producing the save of the tournament from Lloris. In the end, Germany just weren't able to force themselves through the French wall, and Rizzoli put them out of their misery. A very unfortunate end for the world champions who I feel could have done more to test France and even beat them. But they just lacked the right players and strategy in attack.
For France, they've made it to the final. Not many people thought they'd get here and I had them falling in the semi-finals. They've proven the doubters wrong and they are now strong favorites to beat a team who got through in thrid place in their group. However, Deschamps is wise enough to know that in a final it's anyone's game and they must be mindful, especially with the juju I think the Portuguese manager, Santos, may be using.
I'd recommend they change venue to the same stadium on Sunday because the crowd and atmosphere was incredible, and I wasn't even in the stadium. I can only imagine what it must have been like to be there. Whatever the case, Deschamps is on the cusp of something historic, as he attempts to win this competition as both a captain and a manager.
Vive La France! HH
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