Defeated France leave World Cup with heads held high – Raphael Varane

France defender Raphael Varane revealed the team is leaving the World Cup with their heads held high. The Les Bleus had to face a heartbreaking loss against Argentina by 4-2 on penalties at the Lusail Stadium, Doha, Qatar on Sunday.

The match ended in 3-3 after extra time but it was Messi’s Argentina who had the final laugh. It was a see-saw battle as Argentina dominated the first 75 minutes of the game after taking a 2-0 lead in the first half.

However, France didn’t throw in the towel as Mbappe scored twice in 97 seconds to bring his team back into the contest and force the game into extra time.

Messi scored his second of the night in the 109th minute and it looked like Argentina wouldn’t need the penalties. However, France earned a penalty and Mbappe was able to complete his hat trick – becoming the first player to do so in World Cup since Geoff Hurst in 1966.

But Argentina went on to win the penalties by 4-2 to win the coveted title on the third occasion.

“We are very disappointed of course, we gave everything,” Varane said. “We had to face a lot of obstacles during the competition, we gave up nothing.”

“For an hour we were not in the game. We could have won too. I’m very proud of this group and of being French. We keep our heads high. We came back in this game when it was complicated.

“We pushed and we believed until the end. We almost turned the game around, which was not going well. … There was mental strength in this group, a lot of heart. That allowed us to come back in this game. We’re disappointed but also proud.”

On the other hand, France’s skipper Lloris gave credit to the opposition as he felt that his team was outplayed in the first hour of the game.

“The Argentines got off to a great start, being aggressive, using all facets of the game. We were a bit reactionary all night,” Lloris said.

Meanwhile, many French players could not take part in the practice sessions due to illness but Lloris doesn’t want to make that an excuse.

“We’re not going to make excuses, we gave everything,” he added. “You have to congratulate the guys because we didn’t give up until the end.”