The French coach Didier Deschamps did something amazing and historic in his substitutions against Argentina: He took out all the white players (apart from Lloris, the goalkeeper) and fielded an all-black or African team.
At the start of the match there were six black players:
Koundé
Tchouaméni
Dembélé
Mbappé
Varane and
Upamecano
Before the end of the first half Giroud and Dembélé were substituted for Kolo Muani and Thuram, resulting in a net 7 of black players
In the second half and extra time substitutions, the three remaining white outfield players (Hernandez, Rabiot and Griezmann) were substituted for three black players: Camavinga, Coman and Fofana.
Two black players, Koundé and Varane, were also substituted for two other black players, Disasi and Konaté.
France ended the match with these 10 black players:
Mbappé
Tchouameni
Upamecano
Thuram
Camavinga
Coman
Fofana
Disasi
Konaté
Kolo Muani
The only white player on the field was the goalie, Lloris.
I watched the match at a Nigerian friend’s house with a few other people from Sierra Leone and Japan. The young Africans in the room, even the women who were not keen football fans, showed unbelievably passionate support for the French team, which was dubbed an African team. It’s difficult to watch the French team under Deschamps and not support it.
