In two short days already, it will be time to bring out the flags, the scarves and the jerseys.
It will be 4 p.m. in France, 6 p.m. in Doha and a few degrees Celsius higher when France start their round of 16 against Poland.
The men of Didier Deschamps this Thursday launched the preparation for this match, the day after a defeat of the "hairdressers" (1-0) against Tunisia.
Here's what to remember from the day.
Dembele doesn't like cats at all
The anecdote was released by Randal Kolo Muani this Thursday at a press conference.
A journalist had just asked him if he could quote a moment, an episode in the life of this group in Qatar that he was going to remember for a long time.
The former FC Nantes striker spontaneously dropped this: “Ousmane is afraid of cats.
There are cats wandering around the hotel and when we eat outside, Ousmane is scared.
That's just what makes everyone laugh a little.
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🎙 We expected anything but this for Kolo Muani's press conference: "Ousmane Dembélé is afraid of cats."
pic.twitter.com/mDIUDHvpdl
– RMC Sport (@RMCsport) December 1, 2022
Ousmane Dembélé, author of a very good start to the World Cup, also does a lot of good in the atmosphere of this team.
Even if it is sometimes at his expense.
Marcus Thuram spared again
Olivier Giroud's understudy has not yet fully recovered from these little health worries.
We learned on Wednesday, a few hours before the match against Tunisia, that he could not start due to stomach aches.
He is obviously not recovered on Thursday since he again had a light session.
He started with a jog with those who had played the day before, then quickly left for treatments and stretching.
Then alone, he made high intensity races with Cyril Moine but without touching the ball.
The one-day substitutes for their part chained technical exercises and reduced games with assistant Guy Stéphan before ending with strikes and stretching.
The complaint is gone
Promise kept.
The FFF has asked FIFA to account for the reason for the goal denied to Antoine Griezmann in stoppage time against Tunisia.
The Fed notes that the VAR was used "after the resumption of play and after the end of the match", which is contrary to the protocol for the use of this technology, according to the explanation of a federal source.
Asked by AFP on Wednesday evening and Thursday, Fifa did not react to this incredible situation.
A hypothetical modification of the final result would not change the classification of group D: Tunisia is eliminated in both cases and France would face Poland in any case.
On the other hand, the FFF can consider itself aggrieved concerning the world ranking: the defeat against Tunisia will cause France to lose around 38 points, which will place it under threat from England, fifth in the ranking before the World Cup.
A draw would be less problematic for this classification used to designate the seeds of several international competitions.
After this hiccup, TF1 apologized to its viewers for the signal cut but blamed the International Football Federation.