Disappointment of the French XV and New Zealand in the first half, Kylian Mbappe and the Blues qualify for Euro 2024.. sports summary for the weekend

The weekend’s sports news was dominated by the quarter-final matches and the elimination of the French XV from the Rugby World Cup. Every match played in Saint-Denis and Marseille was intense and contested. On the positive side, we have to look at the football aspect. In football, the Blues have secured their place in Euro 2024 and will soon conclude their penultimate grouping of the year.

Rugby: Disappointment for the French XV, which was eliminated from the World Cup

Just when things got serious, France opened the door to participating in the FIFA World Cup finals on Sunday evening. Despite leading for a long period against the defending champion South Africa, coach Fabien Galtier’s players lost by a small point (28-29) in the quarter-finals. They failed to capitalize on their good start to the game, shooting themselves in the foot by committing two fouls while conceding candles.

Facing a Springboks who were tactically on their toes, the duel turned into a second act that was more closing than the first. The Tricolores pushed through the crowd, struggling more and more as the final whistle approached. He didn’t miss much in the end, but for the third edition in a row, France were eliminated in the quarter-finals.

Rugby: New Zealand, England and Argentina completed the semi-finals

Before South Africa, the top three places in the World Cup semi-finals had already been awarded. The basic information lies in the All Blacks qualifying at the expense of Ireland (28-24), at the top of the world rankings, on Saturday. Despite their opening match defeat to France, the New Zealanders did not give up on a Clover XV team that promised a final appearance. In the end, the Irish faced the glass ceiling once again, failing to reach the quarterfinals for the eighth time in 10 games.

New Zealand will face Argentina in the next round. The Pumas got their ticket by beating Wales (29-17) on Saturday. England fought on Sunday, but did not surrender to the impressive Fijians (30-24). Less expected than Ireland or France, XV de la Rose is the final representative of the Northern Hemisphere.

Football: The Blues will witness the 2024 European Championship in Germany

Mission accomplished for Didier Deschamps’ men. The French national football team is participating in its fifteenth consecutive major tournament. By dominating the Netherlands (2-1) on Friday, thanks to a brace by Kylian Mbappé (who now leads Michel Platini in the blue scoring charts with 42 units), it ensured its qualification to the 2024 European Nations Cup finals in Germany. They have two matches remaining in November, against Gibraltar and Greece, to finish in the top five of the group. A prerequisite for being in the draw.

Note that Belgium, Portugal, Scotland and Spain have also ratified their qualification for the Euros (in addition to Germany, which automatically qualified as an organizing nation). The Blues play a second match on Tuesday, against Scotland in Lille, in a friendly match. The opportunity for Didier Deschamps to give playing time to players who did not play four days ago.