"Netherlands really got unlucky too—knocked out on penalties again."
On the way back to their rooms after the match, the teammates were still talking about the Netherlands' loss to Argentina.
It was no great surprise.
The Dutch always made for good talk.
The Oranje's three-peat as bridesmaids was unprecedented. Because if you looked at World Cup history, the ratio of finals appearances to titles won had always held at roughly 50% or better.
In other words, if a team reached the final twice, they'd won it at least once and no team had ever lost three finals in a row.
West Germany and reunified Germany combined had reached the World Cup final seven times, winning three of them.
They lost the finals in both 1982 and 1986, but in 1990—their third final in eight years, they finally won it.
Brazil had reached six finals and won an astonishing five.
Italy had also reached six finals, winning four.
Argentina had reached four finals, winning two.
France had reached two finals, winning one.
Uruguay had two finals, two titles. England and Spain had each reached a final and won it outright.
Maybe it was just fate—the Netherlands were destined to be eternal runners-up.
And what's more in Julien's memory, even a decade or more from now, the Dutch national team still wouldn't have what it took to win the World Cup.
Maybe someday, somewhere down the line, the Netherlands would finally lift the trophy.
Break the curse of the uncrowned kings. But at least—not before he himself retired!
After the match, Comments from both sides had already spread across the world's media.
Robben, for instance, spoke dejectedly after the game: "We're disappointed, we're heartbroken. We came together as a team and gave everything we had for this match. There's no one to blame—we all gave it our all."
"We win together; we lose together. We're proud of this team."
"We were one step from the final. We had our chances in this match, some small ones, but they played better. Now, this match is over."
"But we want the whole of the Netherlands to know—you should be proud of this team. We gave everything we had. For us, winning the title was what mattered most. Third place or fourth, it doesn't mean much to me."
As for Van Gaal, after the match he was, predictably, back to his usual routine.
"Winning a penalty shootout takes luck. We won against Costa Rica, and that gave the players' confidence a boost. Scoring the first penalty was crucial for them. Why did I bring on Vlaar to take one? Because two of the players refused to take a penalty. Vlaar is one of our best players too—he was the one I could turn to but unfortunately he didn't convert it."
Van Gaal also poked fun at himself: "In the end Romero saved two of our penalties which is rather funny, considering I'm the one who taught him how to save penalties."
Romero had once played for AZ Alkmaar in the Dutch league, and van Gaal had coached that club—the two of them had worked together before.
As for Argentina's side, it was mostly excitement over reaching the final, along with talk of preparing hard for the final against France.
Among them Messi wrote on Instagram: "Today it was my turn for the FIFA doping test, so I couldn't be in the Argentina locker room to celebrate. I'm proud, so proud, to be part of this Argentina team.
Everyone was just incredible! This is crazy— we made it to the World Cup final! I'm going to enjoy every bit of this, and embrace the whole of Argentina! We're just one small step from the very end."
Every Argentine felt it was just one small step left.
Messi's numbers in this match hadn't looked great on paper.
With the Dutch keying in on him all game, Messi had struggled to get a comfortable touch on the ball, but over 120 minutes he'd still managed 10 dribbles past defenders and created 2 clear scoring chances.
And in the brutal penalty shootout, as captain, Messi led stepping up first to take Argentina's opening penalty and converting it, giving the team a psychological edge. Especially with the Netherlands having missed their first attempt, Messi's penalty mattered even more.
After the team won, Messi ran off in wild celebration. He had waited a long time for this moment. It meant more to him than words could say.
Four years earlier, in South Africa, Messi—the team's core player had led Argentina to a 4-0 loss and elimination at the hands of Germany.
And now, four years later, in Brazil practically a second home ground for him—Messi, now the captain, had finally led Argentina into the World Cup final.
And so this was a moment Messi had waited far too long for.
That evening, Julien didn't feel any particular nerves with the final drawing near. Now that the day had actually arrived, he felt, if anything, calm.
Was Argentina strong?
Very strong.
But the France of this era wasn't really all that weak either. The only real variable, in the end, was probably Messi.
Messi and Ronaldo—the two names fans had spent all these years debating, the two undisputed GOATS of the game.
Whatever fans said about the two of them in the endless arguments in terms of pure ability, at least, they were miles ahead of everyone else.
If France wanted to win, they'd have to do what the Dutch had done.
Lock Messi down, completely!
Similarly, Argentina would certainly be doing the exact same thing to him.
The next day
At breakfast that morning, the players gathered together, laughing and chatting, trading bits of gossip.
One piece of gossip, in particular, had everyone struggling not to laugh.
It was Mascherano—the man who'd made that decisive, match-saving block the night before who, in an interview, revealed he'd torn his anus.
"I tore my anus during the match. It was very painful, but I didn't want it to show too much."
He went on to describe, in full detail, exactly how the injury had happened.
"The match was almost over. Robben was driving forward into our box, and I blocked his shot stopped what would've been the winner. It was during that block that I tore my anus, which is why I looked like I was in so much pain."
Mascherano's injuries to both his head and his backside still needed further examination, and the final medical report would determine whether he'd be able to play in the World Cup final.
But Mascherano himself was remarkably confident about it: "I believe I'll be able to play. I feel a lot better now. There was some pain out there on the pitch, but it's fine now."
Besides that there was also something the French players found a little hard to wrap their heads around: Brazilian fans were rooting for France to win the title?
A lot of Brazilian media had reported on it.
The gist of it was something like: "Brothers of France—since you're the ones who put out Brazil's dream of a sixth star, now, in the final, do football justice—stop Argentina's dream of a third!"
Evra just laughed it off: "Well, we're playing here in Brazil—we've got to try and grant the Brazilian people's wish!"
Everyone burst out laughing.
That said, there was less pleasant news too.
American media reported that the night before, in the southern J-Sand city of Yunis, a group of fans watching the Argentina–Netherlands semifinal at a beachside café had been hit by bombs dropped by the YSL, killing some, wounding others.
Some of the victims were Argentine fans.
During the World Cup, the YSL had suddenly launched what it called the "Protective Edge" operation against J-Sand, keeping up airstrikes on the territory that had already killed 76 people.
After breakfast ended—the whole team skipped training and headed to the meeting room instead.
Deschamps had arranged for a tactical meeting that morning, to lay out clearly how they'd approach Argentina.
At the same time it was also meant to fire the players up. After all, they'd made it to the final—nobody wanted to fall short now, at the very last step.
"All right, everyone, focus up." Deschamps's voice wasn't loud, but it settled the room. "You already know how the Netherlands–Argentina match went. Our final opponent is Argentina.
I have to stress one thing—this match is nothing like the one against Brazil.
Underestimate Argentina, and we're finished before we start. No matter how easily we won our last game, we cannot afford the slightest bit of complacency."
With that Deschamps turned and pointed at the Argentina formation diagram he'd drawn up, and began breaking down the tactics. "Tactically speaking, Argentina's entire system revolves around Messi—that's the top priority for our defence.
Messi's style is dropping deep to collect the ball and cutting in from the flanks. He's excellent at using tight combinations to tear open a defence, and his free kicks and long-range shots are a serious threat too. We have to set up our defence specifically to deal with that…"
As he spoke, Deschamps's gaze moved to Pogba and Kanté, and then to Cabaye.
Cabaye had already served his suspension and was back.
Deschamps continued, "I haven't decided on the starting lineup yet, but whoever's out there, your job is to control the interceptions in midfield.
But I'll say this clearly, to both of you—N'Golo, you're primarily responsible for man-marking Messi. When he drops deep to receive the ball, stay right on him—don't give him room to turn or to pass.
Paul, you focus on covering the midfield and providing support—the moment Messi gets past Kanté, you need to step in immediately. At the same time, keep an eye on limiting Argentina's midfielder Enzo Pérez, and cut off his passing lane to Messi…"
After he finished Deschamps paused for a moment, as if remembering something, and went on, "Of course, we also need to plan for the possibility that Di María plays.
Di María's role in Argentina's lineup is huge. We have to be prepared for him.
I'll go over that part separately, later."
Next, he turned to the back line: "The defence needs to sit compact and hold its shape—don't push up recklessly, or we'll be wide open to Argentina's counterattacks.
Higuaín and Palacio are good at exploiting gaps, so keep your defensive spacing tight and cover for each other especially out wide. Watch for Messi cutting inside and crossing—don't let them get bodies into the box for a tap-in.
Also—Romero's been in excellent form in penalty shootouts, so when we shoot, mind the angle and the power—don't just blast away carelessly. Make every attacking chance count…"
"On the attacking end, we keep our usual possession-based approach," Deschamps shifted to the attacking tactics. "Up front, stay mobile, make plenty of interchanging runs, and exploit the gaps in Argentina's back-line coordination to create chances.
Julien, your free kicks and long shots are one of our weapons—but don't force it. Work with the team's rhythm and pick your moment;
Antoine, your job is to link up the front line and draw their defensive attention, to open up space for Julien…"
Hearing their names, Julien and Griezmann both nodded.
In fact, this kind of tactical meeting was really just Deschamps hitting the main points—the assistant coaches would go through the detailed tactics with them more carefully later.
It was more about giving everyone a general sense of it beforehand, so they'd know roughly what they'd be drilling in training.
With the tactical breakdown done, Deschamps let his gaze move slowly across every player, and turned to the question of mentality. "The best tactics in the world mean nothing if the mindset isn't right.
I know everyone's morale is high after the big win over Brazil, but that morale can't turn into arrogance.
Argentina's been through the trial of a penalty shootout—this team has strong resilience. And they've got a player like Messi. Whether we're ahead or behind in this match, we need to stay calm."
Deschamps's tone grew firmer. "Don't get rattled over one failed attack. Don't get complacent over one successful defensive stand.
Every single minute of the final matters," he said. "Even the very last second could change the outcome of the match. We need to stay unshaken by praise or blame, and focus on every single action.
Just bring out the level we've shown in training—that's all it takes.
At the same time we need to stay united as a team. No going it alone out there. Football is a game for eleven men only if we stand together can we beat our opponent."
At this point, Deschamps's gaze moved slowly across the room, and finally settled on Julien.
"Julien, I have something I want to say directly to you."
Hearing this, Julien looked up immediately at Deschamps.
Deschamps gave a small smile. "Our entire coaching staff has spent these past few days working flat out, studying how to defend against Messi, how to limit what he can do.
He's Argentina's core. He's their soul.
Messi has done unbelievable things before. We're genuinely worried about how much he could affect this match.
What I want to tell you is—remember, Argentina's coaching staff is doing exactly the same thing right now. They're studying how to defend against you, how to contain your attack too.
You and Messi—you're the core of your respective teams. To a large extent, this final is going to come down to a duel between the two of you.
You both have the ability to decide how this match goes."
With that Deschamps's gaze stayed fixed on Julien, the expectation in his eyes were unmistakable.
Julien straightened slightly, meeting Deschamps's gaze head-on, and nodded firmly: "I understand. I'll give it everything I've got."
Deschamps nodded, satisfied, and turned back to face the whole squad, to close things out. "The rest is up to you—polishing the details in training, giving everything out on the pitch.
The World Cup title is right there in front of us. It's the dream we all share, the goal we've been fighting for.
Remember: stay united, stay calm, stay focused. Do those three things, and we will win this match—we will lift that trophy!"
In the meeting room—the players all straightened up and answered together, as one voice: "All in, take the title!"
They'd already made it this far.
No one wanted to lose now!
That whole idea of "an honourable defeat" was fine to say, but nobody actually wants to lose, no matter how you dress up the loss.
They all wanted the same thing to be the ones standing on that podium at the very end, as champions!!
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