World Cup-winning France on Monday returned home to a hero’s welcome, parading down the Champs-Elysees as hundreds of thousands of cheering fans gave a raucous welcome to the nation’s newest idols.
After overcoming a determined Croatia to win 4-2 in Sunday’s final in Russia, the team came back to euphoric crowds in Paris hoping to catch a glimpse of the players that have captured the nation’s imagination.
The squad did not disappoint, passing the World Cup trophy from player to player as they jumped and danced on an open-air bus with “World Champions” emblazoned on its side.
Photo: Reuters
“Wow, it was completely crazy. They are too beautiful, France is beautiful,” said Julia Cohen, 28, after seeing the players pass by on the Champs-Elysees, the gathering point for all national celebrations.
The parade was under heavy police guard, with 2,000 officers deployed in the capital to ensure the safety of the estimated 300,000 people who turned up.
Above the partying crowds, nine jets from the Patrouille de France, the air force’s acrobatic unit, did an honorary flyover trailing blue, white and red smoke.
After leaving the bus, the players changed into custom-made blue suits before being welcomed at the Elysee Palace by French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, who were also decked out in blue for the occasion.
Macron has already promised the Legion of Honor for the victors’ “exceptional services” to the nation, an award given to the legendary team that won France’s first World Cup title in 1998.
The first couple then posed with the team as they sang the Marseillaise and waved scarves for a joyous group photograph, before heading inside for a private meeting.
“Thanks to you all,” Macron told the squad after gathering again outside. “This team is beautiful because you are united.”
Midfielder Paul Pogba, despite his voice nearly failing him, then proved himself a showman off the pitch as well as on by leading the guests in an impromptu celebratory rap, punctuated by “Allez les Bleus.”
“It’s true, we went on the pitch and we said: ‘We’re going to crush them all,’” Pogba said.
Nearly 3,000 guests were received in the Elysee gardens, including about 1,000 youths from local soccer clubs such as Bondy, the gritty Paris suburb whose towering housing blocks produced rising star Kylian Mbappe.
Some of the children even got to touch the famed trophy, which captain Hugo Lloris handed around.
The guests were also treated to the beats of DJ Snake, who has worked with pop stars including Lady Gaga and is part of the Pardon My French collective of French DJs.
Mbappe, who applied the coup de grace in the final to cement his place as a new global superstar at just 19, said he achieved what he had set out to do — win the World Cup.
“We are proud to make the French happy,” he told TV channel TF1.
“Frankly, personally, it’s not real yet,” striker Antoine Griezmann said. “This cup weighs a lot.”
“We are trying to give a good image for France, for French players. I hope that lots of young people will have seen this match and do the same,” he added.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their
RSS