After the halftime of the World Cup final, France’s coach, Didier Deschamps, provided an explanation for returning with a bandaged thumb.
Argentina held a 2-0 lead before halftime in the final held on December 18. Two goals from Mbappe in the last 10 minutes of normal time pushed the match to extra time, which ended in a 3-3 draw. Argentina eventually won 4-2 on penalties.
Assessing his players’ performance, Deschamps shared with reporters:
“I lost a bit of my finger at half-time. That happens to me sometimes, you have to cause a few ripples and try to turn things around. We were not at our best physically and it happened against a team who were playing a World Cup final. I didn’t get the impression that we were.”