Blues' 'exceptional defensive performance' at Euro 2024 inspires respect abroad

Didier Deschamps' team did not impress anyone on Friday in the quarter-finals of the European Championship, but in Portugal, after losing on penalties, as in Spain, their next opponents on Tuesday, their defensive strength inspires respect.

Emotion on the front page of the Portuguese press. register He chose the unlucky image (''infeliz'') of Cristiano Ronaldo, blurred, but more transparent as in the match, and Joao Felix, whose shot on goal missed Mike Maignan's post, this nickname is more fun and inspired that the two teams: “Infelix”. We are all with him Bernardo Silva then checks on his partner before discussing the look of the match: ''I said yesterday (before a quarter) “These big, short competitions don’t always go to the best teams or those who play the best. Today it was the same, maybe it was tough on Slovenia at eight, today it was tough on us. Football is what moves forward, and that’s a lesson.” A feeling shared by everyday life that excites “Moral victories and unjust defeats”.

Portugal face 'always strong France'

Very clear wording on the first page of Oh Jojoand in French: ” I finish “. With this photo of coach Roberto Martinez holding Parisian Vitinha in his arms. But beyond the vulgar sentiments, the newspaper confirms the evil of its choice: “Portugal loses three consecutive matches in the final for the first time in its history.”

Same note for A Bola who prefers emotional images, that of Mike Maignan blocking a shot from Vitinha and this uncompromising title: “Six hours without recording.” Then come the sentiments in the column signed by Joao Bimpem: “And it was the moment of farewell that Portugal had the most magic.” Journalist in Hamburg saw “Portugal's best performance was the one in which the team showed itself to be more mature, more solid, more united and more talented, but it proved not enough to overcome once again the always strong French team, which had, in this Hamburg challenge, more than ever, there is enormous respect for the Portuguese opponent, which is also very strong.”

Finally, let's look ahead to the semi-finals, a quick tour of Spain where La Roja's qualification is outshining the rest of the sports news and taking pride of place on the front pages of the general press. Staying in the specialist dailies, we see that the Mbappé brand is still very popular. witty, “Mbappe kicks out Cristiano”. “Tuesday against France Mbappe” Title Marka On the first page before the announcement of the color of this meeting: “A more conservative France awaits us in the semi-finals”.

Article being discussed “Exceptional defensive performance” Of the Blues, but also the thermal shock felt by those who had just watched the amazing match between Spain and Germany before discovering, to their horror, the sight of the Blues in white and the Reds in red: “It wasn't an ugly game, even if the first half was hard to digest…”About their new student Mbappe, Marka opinion “Killian had some tantrums, which were uncontrollable, but they didn't translate into anything positive.” But everyday life remains suspicious: He added: “France is in the semi-finals without scoring any goal in the match, how can we not be afraid of them?”