New football rivalry France and Argentina clash again
The rivalry between the two footballing nations of France and Argentina is fierce, especially after the incidents at the Copa América. A Stuttgart professional causes the next riot at the Olympics.
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- There is a new rivalry in world football: France versus Argentina.
- In the quarter-finals of the Olympic football tournament, the atmosphere between the two 2022 World Cup finalists is heated.
- After the final whistle, the Argentinians want to get at Frenchman Enzo Millot's throat for provoking them.
- A few weeks ago, there was already a scandal after the Copa América when Argentinian players started racist chants with derogatory lyrics about French players of African origin.
Stuttgart Bundesliga player Enzo Millot was not aware of any guilt after the tumult in the heated duel with the Argentinians. "I celebrated in front of their bench, yes. That was out of euphoria. The referee was a bit harsh in giving me a red. It was a fair contest. That's football. If the referee doesn't understand that...", said the midfielder after he had fully savored the 1-0 victory of the French footballers in the highly explosive quarter-final of the Olympic tournament against their rivals.
Millot's action after the already heated game sparked fierce arguments between the two camps on the pitch in Bordeaux and further exacerbated the tense relationship between the football rivals. The incidents at the South American Championship were also in the back of their minds, as Millot freely admitted. "That gave us extra motivation. We were happy to meet them."
Scandal after Copa América
After the Copa triumph, Argentinian national team players had started racist chants with derogatory lyrics about French players of African origin. Midfielder Enzo Fernández, on whose Instagram account the video was posted, later apologized. "We had that in our heads and it gave us extra motivation. It's a shame that something like that is still being said in 2024. But it's a great rivalry between two great nations," said star striker Alexandre Lacazette.
In doing so, the French also took a little revenge for their bitter defeat on penalties in the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar. Four years earlier, the French had eliminated Argentina 4:3 in a memorable round of 16 match at the World Cup in Russia on their way to winning the title.
Henry angry with Millot
Jean-Philippe Mateta scored the French winner in the fifth minute. The Équipe Tricolore will now face Egypt in the semi-finals on Monday - without the suspended Millot, which annoyed coach Thierry Henry: "Seeing a red card in the game, okay. But not like that. The scenes after the game, we don't want to see that."
The second semi-final will be contested by Spain and Morocco. Spain won 3:0 against Japan, Morocco won 4:0 against the US soccer team.
