Reaching the corner flag, Julien once again spread his arms wide, embracing the ho crowd's adulation.
French fans chanted "Allez Julien" over and over again.
"Julien, co on!" Even Giroud, who had run over to celebrate, joined in with the fans' chant.
Everyone's faces bead with smiles.
With this goal scored and more than half an hour remaining, they felt confident enough to turn the match around.
On the sideline, the two head coaches showed completely different emotions.
Deschamps celebrated with loud cheers.
Kondratiev hung his head, walked to the technical area, and after sitting down, shook his head slightly.
He was very dissatisfied with the defense of Julien on this occasion.
In his opinion, either Putsila or Bressan should have fouled Julien to stop him earlier. But neither had managed to do so.
The French players' celebration didn't last long—they wanted to make the most of their ti and complete the coback.
The French fans, however, were energized by this goal, especially such a spectacular one from Julien.
They started a wave in the stands.
Fans linked arms, jumping and bouncing.
They sang the classic "Qui ne saute pas n'est pas français."
The lyrics consisted of just this one line, repeated rhythmically with the jumping: "If you don't jump, you're not French, hey! Hey! If you don't jump, you're not French!"
The entire Stade de France suddenly resembled a surging blue sea.
Waves rolled endlessly.
Following Julien's goal, France increasingly dominated the match.
Seeing how difficult Julien was to defend, Belarus inevitably had to increase their defensive focus on the right flank.
But on the left wing, Ribéry was also hitting his stride.
In the 65th minute, Ribéry single-handedly penetrated the penalty area. In a one-on-one situation, he changed his rhythm to create space and unleashed a powerful shot.
The ball hit the net!
2-1.
France had turned the score around.
The ho crowd erupted in even louder cheers, absolutely ecstatic.
During the European Championship, Ribéry had been questioned by the dia about whether he was getting old, whether he was declining.
Now, he proved that he remained France's irreplaceable left-wing starter.
French players embraced each other.
The coback had co much earlier than they'd imagined, allowing everyone to relax a little.
On the sideline, Kondratiev watched the scene with a dark expression. Anyone would find it hard to be happy in such circumstances.
A World Cup qualifier.
Yet it was so difficult.
At this mont, the excited French fans began singing "La Marseillaise."
Whether during the pre-match national anthem, when France dominated play, or when the team faced difficulties, as a stirring battle song, the Marseillaise was always the French fans' best anthem for supporting their team.
The singing was passionate—
"Arise, people! Form your armies! Forward! Forward!"
After taking the lead, France played even more aggressively.
Seeing that Julien wasn't receiving the ball much, Belarus couldn't help but relax their marking on him, needing to cover other positions.
However, this proved that Julien could never be left unmarked!
Just past the 72nd minute, Julien saw that only Verkhovtsov and Bressan were watching him on the right flank.
It was practically wide open!
More defenders didn't necessarily an stronger defense—defensive quality mattered too.
Belarus's players weren't particularly tenacious defenders to begin with. This was a difference in ability.
Right-back M'Biwa made an overlapping run, and Julien moved inside.
M'Biwa drew away Verkhovtsov and Bressan.
Putsila and Kislyak moved toward Julien's area, and M'Biwa played the ball back.
Julien didn't stop the ball but smoothly touched it forward.
Kislyak, positioned more centrally, quickly closed in to block Julien's cutting-in route.
But Julien continued to move sideways with the ball.
Kislyak tried to grab Julien with his hands but Julien evaded him. As Putsila closed in, he kicked at the ball.
Julien got there first, poking it away.
Putsila's foot caught Julien's shin slightly, causing him to stumble briefly. He took a big step, regained control of the ball, and continued cutting inside.
Julien also glanced up to check goalkeeper Veremko's position.
At this point, Belarus's back line was completely drawn to Julien.
In the center, Giroud was occupying the center-backs.
Bang!
Suddenly, Julien struck the ball, it was not a shot, but a lofted pass to the far post!
Ribéry!
Was making a run!
Bang!
He burst from behind winger Bordachev and fullback Martinovich.
Completely unmarked, he fired a powerful shot.
Goalkeeper Veremko had been completely focused on Julien and hadn't noticed Ribéry's position at all.
By the ti he looked in that direction, it was too late!
Swoosh!
The ball hit the net. Ribéry had scored twice, with Julien contributing a goal and an assist.
France 3-1 Belarus!
The stadium erupted in thunderous noise.
Although the first half had been dull, the second half was won with ease.
After scoring, Ribéry was all smiles.
He grinned broadly at Julien.
3-1.
Seeing this scoreline, Deschamps on the sideline was completely at ease.
After celebrating with his coaching staff, he sat comfortably in the dugout and said to assistant Stéphane, "Go tell Yallet and Cabaye to warm up. We'll make so midfield adjustnts in a bit and try so new players."
Stéphane nodded.
In Madrid, Zidane was watching France control the scoreline from his ho, allowing himself a small smile.
Two wins from two in the World Cup qualifiers had undoubtedly gotten their Brazil World Cup campaign off to a good start.
However, Spain remained the primary threat.
In the earlier match between Spain and Georgia, facing Georgia's defensive "bus," Spain's dream of 22 consecutive World Cup qualifying wins seed about to end.
At the crucial mont, Fàbregas crossed from the right side of the penalty area, and an unmarked Soldado swept ho from inside the box.
Spain beat Georgia with an 86th-minute winner!
In this match, coach Del Bosque had unusually started Soldado as the lone striker, not using Torres or Villa. The veteran coach's tactical setup was vindicated at the last mont.
Zidane had checked the fixture list.
After this round, France had a bye in the next group stage round. On October 17th, Deschamps's team would face Spain in a crucial encounter.
He knew that for France, the key to direct qualification from this group would be the head-to-head clash between the two powerhouses.
Of course, if they dropped points against other opponents, it would be very difficult for France to challenge Spain in their current state.
Zidane sighed softly.
Watching Belarus's mass defensive tactics against Julien on television, he couldn't help but shake his head.
Unfortunately, France only had one Julien.
It was too easy to target.
This match showed Belarus's poor defensive and offensive capabilities.
But against Spain, what would the final result be?
It was really hard to say.
In the 80th minute, Deschamps made two substitutions, bringing on two new faces to the national team.
Zidane knew that Deschamps was trying to find usable players.
He thought about center-back Varane, whom he could recomnd to Deschamps.
There was also that defensive midfielder from Bastia—Kanté—who seed quite good too.
Though he needed more observation.
Only after Bastia truly faced strong opponents like their matches against PSG this month and their Europa League fixtures could Kanté's true quality be properly assessed.
Tweet!!
As Zidane pondered, the television carried the final whistle and the comntator's voice—
"We maintain a perfect record in our first two group matches, currently sitting top of the group with 6 points."
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