France lost World Cup final: Thousands of fans celebrate national team in Paris

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Fans applaud the French team in Paris

Photo: Francois Mori / dpa

After losing the World Cup final, the French national soccer team was celebrated by thousands of fans in Paris.

The team around superstar Kylian Mbappé landed in Paris in the evening and then drove to the Place de la Concorde, where thousands of supporters were waiting for them.

The team eventually gathered on a hotel balcony.

'Unfortunately we didn't win, but it's nice to have been supported.

That warms the heart,” said Marcus Thuram, who is under contract with Borussia Mönchengladbach, on television station TF1 in the evening.

In the event of another World Cup triumph, a parade on the magnificent boulevard Champs Élysées would have been planned.

Coach Didier Deschamps' team lost Sunday's final at the Lusail Stadium 4-2 on penalties against Argentina and missed out on their first successful title defense since Brazil 1962.

The team returned from Qatar in the early afternoon.

The supporters of the World Cup runners-up had speculated throughout the day about whether they would see the team on Monday.

In the meantime, it was said that the team would go straight home after returning from Doha.

However, the French Football Federation later confirmed that the players would go to the center of Paris to show themselves to the fans.

In January, the team will be received again by President Emmanuel Macron, announced Minister of Sport Amélie Oudéa-Castera on Radio France International.

"The President of the Republic will thank you and congratulate you," she said.

Macron also traveled to the final on Sunday, congratulated the players on their performance at the award ceremony and comforted them with a speech in the dressing room.

"I'm proud of you," Macron told the disappointed players.

A huge victory celebration for the world champions around superstar Lionel Messi is planned for Tuesday in Argentina.

Already on the night after the World Cup final, millions of people had cheered their team's victory.

In the capital Buenos Aires alone, hundreds of thousands celebrated their country's third World Cup title.

aeh/dpa/AFP