MILAN (ITALPRESS) – Trying again and erasing the regret of having barely missed a hat-trick. With this spirit and his usual winning mentality, Adrien Rabiot approaches the 2026 World Cup. In an interview with the FIFA website, the AC Milan and France midfielder spoke about a World Cup that sees the “Bleus” among the favorites, drawn in Group I along with Senegal, Iraq, and Norway. The memory of the dramatic final, lost on penalties to Argentina, is still fresh in the mind of the 31-year-old from Saint-Maurice.
“It was a mix of conflicting emotions. It’s a very meaningful memory for me, even if it ended in defeat. It was a historic moment, considering everything I’d experienced before: from little Adrien starting to play football at the age of six to that final. It was what I dreamed of most as a young player. It was a very emotional moment. Despite the defeat, it remains a pleasant moment because being able to play in a World Cup final is a beautiful memory. It doesn’t happen every day and it doesn’t happen to everyone,” Rabiot explains with his usual lucidity.
“I used that defeat as motivation for the matches immediately following, once the championship resumed. I used it for the following matches, both with my club and with the national team. Obviously, it made me want to win even more and secure the victory. Immediately after the final, I said to myself, ‘Okay, see you in four years, and this time we’ll win,'” said the AC Milan midfielder, aware that France is among the favorites.
“It doesn’t put pressure on us because, after all, we had a similar status four years ago as reigning champions. At the start of the 2022 edition, people obviously saw us as one of the favorites. We’re a strong team and we need to be aware of our strengths without being arrogant or presumptuous. We need to have a clear idea of where we want to go. Every time we put in a performance like the one we put in in the first half against Brazil (in a friendly in March that France won 2-1), with that mentality and determination, we can give any opponent a run for their money. However, we know that we’ll be facing teams that play almost at our same level, and it will be the small details that will make the difference.”
-Photo IPA Agency-
(ITALPRESS).
