Brazil v France: World Cup 1986 quarter-final – live!
28-Apr-2020 18:20:56 | The Guardian
An omen: this is currently top of the UK hit parade.
For those of you who’ve invented the internet already, you can watch along here:
So Brazil are unchanged from their 4-0 hiding of Poland, because why should they make special plans for a side as good as France? Exactly. And why should France make special plans for a side as good as Brazil? Exactly. They make one alteration, Tusseau replacing the suspended Ayache; seven of these started their 1982 defeat to West Germany in Seville.
Brazil (a relaxed 4-4-1-1): Carlos; Josimar, Edinho, Julio Cesar, Branco; Elzo, Alemão, Socrates, Junior; Muller; Careca. Subs: Paulo Vitor, Leao, Edson, Oscar, Mauro Galvao, Falcao, Zico, Silas, Valdo, Casagrande, Edivaldo.
France (a flexible 4-4-2): Bats; Amoros, Battiston, Bossis, Tusseau; Fernandez, Giresse, Tigana, Platini; Rocheteau, Stopyra. Subs: Bergeroo, Rust, Ayache, Bibard, Le Roux, Ferreri, Genghini, Vercruysse, Bellone, Papin, Xuereb.
For those of you making your World Cup debuts aged 7 years and three months, this is the game. Obviously you’ve lapped up everything you’ve been allowed to lap up, but this is the one: the one your dad plonks you in front of, as though he needed to, and says “This – this – this – is what it’s all about.”
We’re all friends here, so we can be be honest: if it turns out to be a stinker, there’ll be joy to be had in the aftermath, winding him up. But it’ll be small compensation because this needs to be magic. The world is depending on it.
Football is a hard, nasty, vicious, visceral endeavour, and that’s a large part of why we love it so much. But this contretemps – this revés – which has the potential to be extremely special – will be no such thing. It’s a funny old game, Saint, Santo.
Performing for our delectation we have two of the most beautiful teams ever, wearing two of the most beautiful kits ever, exuding two of the coolest cools ever, with a place in the World Cup semi-finals at stake. Anyone who claims to know what’s going to happen is a liar.
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