Four world champions, four great figures of French football will be cheered by the 80,000 spectators at the Stade de France on the sidelines of the match between France and the Netherlands, this Friday March 24 (8:45 p.m.). Around 8:25 p.m., Hugo Lloris, Steve Mandanda, Raphaël Varane and Blaise Matuidi will enter the pitch and meet their former teammates who will finish their warm-up. Videos retracing their career will be shown on giant screens. The federation will take advantage of this moment of nostalgia to salute the memories of Just Fontaine and Claude Simonet, both of whom died in March.
Karim Benzema had also been invited by the FFF. But the Ballon d’Or has declined, no doubt due to the many misunderstandings that have accumulated with Didier Deschamps since his withdrawal before the start of the World Cup. The coach did not want to fuel the controversy and was content to justify the tribute to the other four players… “We had to do it vis-à-vis these players, make sure it was good done but that it does not disturb the news of the moment with match. »
Le Graët is visibly struggling to take a step back
The initiative was launched by Noël Le Graët in January. Moreover, his presence at the Stade de France is not to be excluded. As former president of the FFF, he has a reserved place in the official gallery. The Breton is visibly struggling to take a step back. In recent days, he has been seen several times in the halls of the federation. To give opinions on certain major issues, particularly related to sponsors. He had explained at the time of his resignation that he remained at the disposal of the comex and the “3F”. As part of his new responsibilities at FIFA, he also visited its premises at the Hôtel de la Marine, Place de la Concorde.
Note that other operations will take place this Friday evening around the match. As part of the international week for the fight against racism, the Blues will once again carry the message “One color only, that of the jersey” when they enter the lawn and during the hymns. The Netherlands, meanwhile, decided to wear the One Love armband.
Finally, the training clubs which had been highlighted during the World Cup are invited to the Stade de France to receive their club’s jersey which has been signed by the international they have trained. All the Globalists had participated with a smile in this friendly initiative except the Marseillais Mattéo Guendouzi, trained at PSG.
