It’s been 20 years since France have won it all in the World Cup, and they are on the verge of ending that long drought this year following their 1-0 win on Tuesday over fellow European powerhouse Belgium in the semifinals of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
Thousands of miles away from Russia, Rudy Gobert can’t help but feel incredibly ecstatic over the latest triumph of Le Bleus, per Gilbert Manzano of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
“I’m excited for my country,” said Gobert , who was born in Saint-Quentin, France. “It’s been a few years since we got this opportunity. I’m just very excited and going back to France Thursday, and hopefully we can win Sunday and celebrate.”
Although he’s playing an entirely different sport, Rudy Gobert can also relate to how France took down the Red Devils. In the match, France relied on their excellent set of defenders, as Samuel Umtiti and company managed to hold the high-flying offense of Belgium scoreless. Despite the fact that Belgium had control of the ball 60 percent of the time, France launched 19 shots (five on target) compared to just nine (three on target) by Belgium.
Prior to the semifinals meeting, Belgium had racked up an astounding total of 14 goals in five games.
“(France is) very good defensively, and I think they’re playing like the best team in the world right now,” said Gobert, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year in the NBA.
Gobert will now have to wait for the result of the other semifinals match between England and Croatia this coming Wednesday to ascertain which team France will meet in the World Cup Finals.
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