WHY FRANCE FAILED TO REACH A THIRD CONSECUTIVE WORLD CUP FINAL

 

WHY FRANCE FAILED TO REACH A THIRD CONSECUTIVE WORLD CUP FINAL

France had seemed invincible in the tournament.It held an unblemished record and a combined 16-2 goal differential against their first six opponents.

Still  France lost to the Spaniards. 

The French defender Rayan Cherki puts it succinctly,"It's an immense disappointment. Today we lost against ourselves. We didn't lose against the referee. We didn't lose aginst Spain. We lost against ourselves. You all know that everyone was scared of us. The only team who were capable of eliminating us was ourselves. Today is terrible."

Kylian Mbappe says France simply didn't play well to reach a third consecutive final. He criticised France's work with the ball saying poor first touches and missed opportunities prevented his team from testing Spain when opportunities appeared.

Mbappe was candid. His blunt assessment was his team was "sloppy technically."

"Spain is a team who loves to have control of the game, control of the ball.That's what we let them do. We let the midfield too much time to play and at the end of the day they had quality to play. It's difficult when you don't change the play of Spain. We weren't at the level to go to the final."

"We didn't play the game we wanted, tecnically, tactically. When you don't do what you have to do in a World Cup semi final, you don't win." 

The France captain pointed to breakdowns in both the game plan and its execution. "We were three aginst two in midfield and against Spain, that's hard. Fabian and Rodri had plenty of time to play. There was a lack of communication on the press. I think we should have done man to man press and forced them to run with us."

Mbappe said France's plan had been to apply pressure high up the field and prevent Spain from settling into its preferred possession game. Instead, Spain regularly played through the press and quickly recovered the ball whenever France briefly regained it.

He concluded,"At the end of the day, you take all the glory when you win. When you don't win... it's part of the game. As the captain, I have to take all the responsibility and I have no problem with that. We wanted to go to the final. We didin't go."

SPAIN CONVEYS TO REST OF THE WORLD - ALL OF THEM, NOT ONE OF THEM

 

SPAIN CONVEYS TO  REST OF THE WORLD - ALL OF THEM, NOT ONE OF THEM - 

Javier Dale, Spanish football writer in Times of India 21 July 2026

Yes, the final was dreary in parts, mostly thanks to Argentina. But,still, there was a wonderful message. The trophy ultimately belonged to a squad that didn't revolve around a star and played as a team. No surprise, squads hosting Messi or Ronaldo or Mbappe or Haaland didn't win the first prize.

Belgium, all guns blazing,  dispensed with US by simply playing  better. They made favourites France look pedestrian in the semi- final.                  (Marcela Mora y Araujo - Argentine football writer).

Cristiano Ronaldo was celebrated in his farewell. Lionel Messi inspired every conceivable superlative. Kylian Mbappe reminded everyone of the player he still is. Erling Haaland demonstrated that there are few greater assets in football than an unstoppable goalscorer.

Spain always trusted possession, quick combinations, movement and positional play. They behaved as though goals were simply the inevitable consequence of playing well. They never waited for an individual act of inspiration.

In fact they produced one of the finest World Cup campaigns ever seen. They conceded only one goal in the whole tournament. The final against Argentina elevated that performance to perfection. 20 shots at goal. 11 on target. 68% possession. 803 passes at over 90% accuracy.

Argentina  were reduced to almost nothing. Three attempts. None on target. They were left stranded as mere passengers on the pitch.

Football is a team sport. Passing is its fundamental act. As a team, Spain were solid, unbreakable and in control throughout. They were always in command of the match and the ball. 

The way they played, this team has every right to be remembered among the greatest World Cup champions

MUPPETIFICATION

 

Anil Abraham wrote in The Times of India editorial page  on 21 July 2026 on Muppetification. 

MUPPETIFICATION

Muppetification generally refers to the creative or cultural process of turning non-Muppet subjects, characters, or media into the style of Jim Henson’s Muppets.

A muppet is a type of puppet created by Jim Henson, a famous character from shows like The Muppet Show or Sesame Street, and informal British slang for a silly or foolish person.

Examples of Muppetification in the article

Senseless interventions are sadly unnecessary and potentially harmful

He (the President) stayed on when everyone wanted him.to leave

When Argentina lost the writer found himself surreptitiously sliding away from his sofa even as his wife tried to cheer him up

The prize distribution was akin to Photo bombing of Spain's victory

Each performer a star, but put together in a completely chaotic manner, resembling celebrities fighting for attention (The musical interlude at the half-time of the World Cup Final)

Perhaps Messi's loss had indicated that it was, 'Time to hand over reins to a new generation'

OFFERTORY

 OFFERTORY is a simple word.

OFFERTORY is not just the oblation in the offertory bags or boxes at the places of worship.

Whatever the faithful offers to God is offertory.

Those who govern have only what the faithful offer at the feet of God, individually or collectively,

If the offering is deployed to generate income, that never belongs to the people in authority

It is the natural multiplication of the offertory. 

No one has the right to employ it as they like.

God's assets are God's alone.

It's for God to assiduously marshal its deployment

YOU DON'T HAVE TO WRITE LONG

 A grief stricken member of a Church wrote a lengthy letter on the misappropriation of  precious resources of the Church

He received a sound advice

You don't have to write long.

Just make a call to stop giving to the church.

If money is not there, how can they spend as they like.

File a suit in the courts to stop the ones at the top from dipping into cash balance - both physical and bank accounts. 

File another suit to prevent them from selling off the assets of the church.

When you cut off the access to money, they won't be able to be spendthrifts with God's assets

PIECE DE REISTANCE

 PIECE DE REISTANCE

pièce de résistance

piːˌɛs də rɪˈzɪstɒ̃s

The phrase pièce de résistance means the most impressive, important, or excellent part of a group of things, an event, or a meal.

"Piece of resistance"  is from French.

Original use: 

The main or heaviest dish of a meal (the main course).

General use: 

The highlight, showpiece, or crowning glory of an event, collection, or performance.

Examples in Daily Use

 Food: 

"The dinner was wonderful, but the pièce de résistance was a rich chocolate cake."

Design: 

"The old house had lovely rooms, but the pièce de résistance was the glass sunroom."

Performance:

"The band played many great songs, and the pièce de résistance was their final guitar solo."

AD HOMINEM

 AD HOMINEM

ad hominem

ad ˈhɒmɪnɛm

An ad hominem argument is a personal attack on an opponent rather than addressing the actual facts or logic of their claim. 

The phrase is Latin for "to the person". 

Direct insults or name-calling aimed at a person's character.

Claiming someone is only arguing for selfish reasons or hidden motives.

Accusing the speaker of hypocrisy or saying "you do it too" instead of answering the point.

It Fails Logic because:

A person's flaws or bad habits do not make their factual point false.

It shifts focus away from the real topic to win an argument through insult.