France team: Adrien Rabiot reflects on the lost final against Argentina

In just a few hours, Adrien Rabiot will kick off the 2026 World Cup with the French national team against Senegal. But before that, the AC Milan midfielder looked back on the 2022 final in Qatar.

The former PSG and OM midfielder opened up in an interview with Le Figaro. It was an opportunity for him to revisit the painful defeat against Argentina in the 2022 final. "I think about it from time to time. It’s a mix of emotions. Recently, I was on my phone and came across a post showing the penalty shootout, with Argentina's final penalty. Then I see the Argentinians running onto the pitch. In that moment, I feel so many things… disappointment, anger. But honestly, it just made me hungrier. I’m even more determined, with a burning desire to come back stronger and go after something big. We were really so close, it came down to nothing, and you realize that. And then, in that final, our first half was one to forget. We wasted 45 minutes. If we’d played like we did at the end of the match… But all that is behind us now, it’s been four years. Those are lessons, and I’ve learned from that experience." he admitted.

Rabiot also talked about the captain’s armband for Les Bleus: "Am I legitimate? We talk a lot among ourselves, whether on or off the pitch. No one should be afraid to tell a teammate: ‘You need to do this, you need to be more like that.’ On the contrary, it’s beneficial. The more communication, the better. And that aspect works well in this team. Offensively, we also have smart players, used to putting in the defensive effort at their clubs. It’s nothing new for them. Whether it’s Kylian, Ousmane, or others, everyone is pulling in the same direction because we share the same goal, the same desire: to be there on July 19 in New York. We work a lot on that, and the coach reminds us of it regularly. We’ll only get through this as a team."

Joshua SOSSOU

Editorfr, en, ar

As a sports fan, and particularly a football fan, I've been putting my writing talent to good use for a number of years now to promote African talent and the continent's football in general. On Foot Africa, enjoy reading each of my lines.

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