Special envoy to Marseille
On the eve of France-Chile scheduled for Tuesday evening at 9 p.m., there were still many places left for the last meeting of the Blues before the Euro list.
The latest count estimated the expected attendance in Marseille between 45,000 and 49,000 spectators.
Tickets ranging from 29 to 120 euros will still be on sale during the day on Tuesday.
The FFF hopes to exceed the mark of 50,000 people in an enclosure which can accommodate… 67,000.
How can we explain the fact that the world vice-champions do not play in front of a full house, as was the case in Lyon on Saturday evening against Germany with nearly 57,000 spectators present at Groupama Stadium?
Several elements explain this situation.
Read alsoMbappé-Tchouaméni only survivors, 9 changes: Deschamps will change everything against Chile
The OM schedule, with the reception of Paris SG on Sunday for the Ligue 1 Classic, then the arrival of Benfica on April 18 in the quarter-final of the Europa League, is a first argument.
The relative fame of the Blues' opponent, 42nd in the Fifa rankings, even with the presence of Alexis Sanchez who passed through La Canebière, is another.
Three days earlier, Kroos, Wirtz, Havertz and even Gundogan and Musiala arrived at Groupama Stadium... The poster for this March gathering was in Lyon, not in Marseille.
The supporters understood this well.
Other explanations have been put forward.
The late scheduling of the meeting did not favor the travel of French supporters, with a match in the middle of the week.
Last thing, apart from Jonathan Clauss, and to a lesser extent William Saliba or Mattéo Guendouzi, former players of the house now at Arsenal and Lazio Rome, few OM players play with the France team.
Unlike Paris SG, the most represented club with Kylian Mbappé, Randal Kolo Muani, Ousmané Dembélé, Warren Zaire-Emery and Lucas Hernandez.
Not easy for a Marseille fan, these players - most of them will be substitutes - on Tuesday, before whistling them on Sunday.
Football schizophrenia has its limits.