Everyone forgot to breathe, forgot to move, every eye locked hypnotically on the spinning sphere.
Even goalkeeper Loria could only watch helplessly as it flew toward the corner.
No diving save was possible.
He couldn't even react!
SWOOSH!
Under the gaze of tens of thousands, the ball barely kissed the side netting as it crashed into the goal.
In that instant, Georgia's players felt their hearts sink.
And France's supporters absolutely erupted.
"JULIENOOOO!"
"CAPTAIN OF FRANCE!!"
Julien saw the ball hit the net and rolled away, arms pumping as he charged toward the stands.
Thanks to the attribute enhancements and their bonus effects, even without elite finishing stats, Julien could still produce these absolutely lethal strikes.
He sprinted toward the stands, once again spreading his arms wide in his signature celebration.
Except this time was different from every time before, this blue number 10 jersey now carried the captain's armband.
He'd scored his first goal as France's captain!
His fourth goal of this qualifying campaign!
Teammates mobbed him, wrapping him in crushing embraces, screaming and roaring with the fans.
Deschamps punched the air repeatedly, vindication surging through him. He hadn't been wrong!
Julien was France's answer up front!
Pogba's pass had been excellent, yes, but with a different striker, this probably would've just been a successful switch of play, continued pressure on Georgia's shape.
But with Julien, it became a goal.
That was the difference!
On the touchline, Georgia's coach Ketsbaia stood frozen in shock. This—this was actually possible?
That finishing technique, that execution—it was almost absurd!
Ketsbaia wasn't some nobody himself. He'd been a Georgian football legend, landing in the Premier League back in 1997.
His first stop was Newcastle United.
After three years, in 2000, he'd transferred to Wolves for £1.4 million which was serious money in that era.
Before taking the Georgia national team job, he'd managed in Greece from 2004 onwards—coaching Anorthosis and Olympiacos, and had five years of experience before stepping up to international level.
There was even an amusing footnote to his career.
Ketsbaia's final playing destination had been Anorthosis, where he'd played from 2002 until finally hanging up his boots in 2007.
Spot the issue?
He retired as a player in 2007 but started coaching Anorthosis in 2004.
Yes, exactly.
For several years, Ketsbaia had simultaneously served as both manager and player for Anorthosis.
Anorthosis got an incredible deal: one salary covering two positions.
Sadly, that unique experience wouldn't bring him any luck tonight.
After the opening goal, Georgia attempted to push forward, but as soon as they reached midfield, they ran straight into Kanté's unyielding pressing.
Moreover, their striker Vasadze found himself completely imprisoned by Varane and Sakho—barely any space to breathe all match.
It looked like a complete jail sentence.
Meanwhile, France's attacks came in ruthless waves.
Whether from Ribéry on the left or Julien on the right, both wingers were in devastating form this season.
Georgia's fullbacks on both flanks were suffering miserably.
Fortunately, Georgia maintained their defensive shape even when venturing forward, preventing an immediate collapse.
But under France's relentless pressure, cracks inevitably appeared.
The stadium thundered with approval.
During France's sustained assault, Julien used his dribbling to drag Georgia's entire defensive focus toward the flank.
That created space centrally!
Julien seized exactly that opportunity. While isolated on the wing, he suddenly accelerated, then whipped in a cross with his right foot.
His right foot still wasn't as polished as his left, but it was no longer the "crippled limb" of his early days.
The ball whipped toward the center.
Giroud charged into the box, marked only by center-back Kashia.
Completely outmuscled.
Giroud rose majestically, powering a header into the net.
18th minute
2-0!
France doubled their advantage.
The Stade de France exploded again, Giroud sprinting straight toward Julien.
Julien spread his arms wide, pulling him into a tight embrace.
"Absolutely beautiful! What a header!"
Giroud's face radiated pure joy, slapping Julien's back enthusiastically. "All because of your cross!"
2-0 against a team like Georgia basically meant game over.
While France celebrated, Kashia wiped sweat from his face. This match was genuinely making him sweat buckets.
As they walked back toward the center circle after celebrating, Julien noticed most familiar face on Georgia's roster, their midfield creator: Ananidze.
That name, to those who knew, represented both talent and tragedy.
In 2009, 16-year-old Ananidze had worn Lokomotiv Moscow's colors and found the net, setting a Russian Premier League record as the youngest goalscorer. At 17, he'd won Georgian Footballer of the Year and was hailed as the next golden boy, hope of Georgian football, the successor to Kaladze, potentially even surpassing his predecessor.
But injuries had dragged this attacking midfielder back toward mediocrity.
Back to the match.
Two goals up, France adjusted their approach. They reduced the attacking intensity, content to control possession and wait for Georgia to push forward.
But Ketsbaia held his nerve.
No matter how many openings France offered, he refused to commit men forward.
France still created decent chances, but nothing quite fell perfectly.
Soon enough, 47 minutes elapsed. Halftime arrived.
France led Georgia 2-0 at home. TF1's commentator expressed complete satisfaction with the result, "At this rate, victory is just a matter of time. Deschamps has built this team well, especially Julien's positioning—he's no longer restricted to the right flank. He can drift centrally, which creates enormous defensive problems for opponents."
When the second half kicked off shortly after, the defensive problems TF1's commentator mentioned became apparent.
Neither side made halftime substitutions.
Georgia remained toothless in attack, barely creating anything, constantly defending, defending, defending.
But Julien's positional flexibility forced Georgia's left-back Kverkvelia to constantly adjust his positioning. Several times he'd tried getting teammates to cover, but Julien and his teammates' movement patterns consistently created isolation. If not for sheer numbers packed in the box, France would've scored again already.
So, this time, Kverkvelia stuck tight to Julien.
However, when he followed, teammate Amisulashvili got dragged out of position by Pogba's run.
Julien accelerated laterally!
Kverkvelia committed fully, trying to foul Julien outside the box—but Julien released the ball first!
THUMP!
A sharp horizontal pass, then a split-second pause as Kverkvelia froze in confusion. In that instant, Julien exploded past him.
Giroud had dropped deeper as an outlet, receiving the ball and immediately playing it back into space.
Without hesitation, Julien met it first-time with his left foot, lashing a fierce shot!
SWOOSH!
The ball ripped through the netting once more!
55th minute. 3-0!
Game. Set. Match.
The Stade de France's roar rose and fell in continuous waves, blue flooding every section of the stands.
The supporters' passion merged into a single force, piercing through Paris's night sky.
Julien had scored twice!
He flashed a smile, embracing Giroud tightly. "This one's yours as much as mine."
Giroud laughed heartily.
In this match's last two goals, they'd each provided an assist and a finish.
It was pure stat-padding at this point.
And with a three-goal cushion, France saw no need to keep pushing recklessly.
For one thing, Spain awaited in just four days—it would be a genuinely decisive battle. The starters needed rest.
For another, Deschamps wanted to blood new players, and matches like this provided perfect opportunities.
So, at the 60-minute mark, Deschamps withdrew Julien.
As he left the pitch, thunderous applause rained down from every section.
Both sides then settled into basic attacking patterns, time was steadily ticking away.
As the France-Georgia match entered its final stages, with the 3-0 scoreline essentially locked in and little chance of drama in the remaining ten minutes, the stadium suddenly erupted with fresh cheers.
Countless supporters held up two fingers.
The signal for 1-1.
Fans around the stadium transmitted the news to each other, every face beaming with delight: "Spain drew! Spain drew!"
For French supporters, this was absolutely magnificent news.
Incredible!
Everyone had assumed France would need to beat Spain to claim first place in the group. Now it seemed like simply avoiding defeat might be enough.
With the on-field action essentially meaningless, the commentator immediately turned to discussing the other match: Spain and Finland which had kicked off fifteen minutes earlier.
"This is unquestionably positive news for France. Spain has been held to a draw at home by Finland."
France's coaching staff and bench also received confirmation.
Deschamps sank back into his seat, triple-checking the information's validity. He'd stopped even watching the match in front of him, consumed totally by Spain's situation.
Substituted off earlier, Julien joined his teammates on the bench in lively discussion.
This result meant after this round of group matches; they'd be sitting in first place.
France: 3 wins, 1 draw—10 points, top of the table.
Spain: 2 wins, 2 draws—8 points, second place.
Georgia, Belarus, and Finland sat on 4, 3, and 2 points respectively, occupying positions 3-5.
Bottom-of-the-table Finland had somehow teared a result from Spain on their own turf!
Inadvertently helping France in the process.
It directly propelled France into the group's top spot. In the next match against Spain, as long as they didn't lose, they'd maintain control of their destiny.
And Julien had seen news before the match mentioning this game marked Real Madrid legend Sergio Ramos's 100th cap milestone.
Though, it was not exactly the most beautiful way to celebrate that achievement.
Ramos became the 8th Spanish player to reach a century of caps, joining Casillas, Zubizarreta, Xavi, Xabi Alonso, Raúl, Torres, and Puyol. Currently Casillas led Spain's all-time list with 143 appearances.
Gradually, almost no one in the Stade de France cared about the final ten minutes of the match unfolding in front of them. Nearly everyone was discussing Spain's shocking draw with Finland at home.
This was the three-time major tournament champion!
The seemingly invincible Spain!
Georgia's bench and coaching staff could feel the home crowd's attention had completely drifted from the pitch. The realization stung them somewhat.
After all, the match was still happening, but the opposition had stopped viewing them as opponents at all.
Head coach Ketsbaia shook his head helplessly. Nothing to be done—this was simply the reality of the gap in quality.
Meanwhile, French fans not present at the stadium had been watching Spain-Finland simultaneously.
After that match concluded, the commentator offered a fairly restrained assessment:
"During his playing days, Vicente del Bosque wore Spain's captain's armband in just two matches. One of those occurred at Molinón Stadium, home of Sporting Gijón. That match took place on April 16, 1980, against Czechoslovakia.
Tonight, at Molinón, Del Bosque became Spain's most prolific manager by number of matches. Spain's clash with Finland marked Del Bosque's 69th game in charge, surpassing László Kubala's 68 matches managing La Roja.
But regrettably, Spain suffered a painful setback tonight at Molinón. Despite overwhelming dominance, they could only manage a 1-1 draw with Finland.
For stretches, this match was genuinely hypnotic. Spain enjoyed absolute control of possession but couldn't find effective ways to break through. Their repeated long-range efforts outside the box seemed more like hopeful pot-shots than calculated attacks.
Nearly all of Spain's attacking methods were frozen out by Finland's organization. In their last two World Cup qualifiers, Spain have now twice surrendered leads after going 1-0 up.
Can't score more, can't defend what they have—that's become Spain's defining characteristic. The Matadors are unable to extend advantages when ahead, and equally unable to prevent opponents' quick counters.
After four group matches, Spain has 2 wins and 2 draws for just 8 points. France, meanwhile, sit top of Group I with 3 wins, 1 draw, and 10 points.
Next Tuesday, Spain travels to face France. That match will determine who claims top spot in the group. To secure direct passage to the World Cup in Brazil, Spain must win in France.
"Tactically, France clearly hold the advantage. Les Bleus only need to avoid defeat—Deschamps's team will have the more relaxed mentality.
Win in France? On March 3, 2010, Spain managed exactly that—a 2-0 victory. But back then, Casillas and Puyol weren't injured. Villa wasn't yet 30. Torres, Güiza, and Senna were still part of the squad.
And France at that time were mired in their dark period before the South Africa World Cup.
Now Spain's overall quality has declined significantly, while France are ascending after generational transition—especially their right winger Julien De Rocca. He holds absolute reverence in France, and at just 18 years old has become national team captain. In the early 20th century, Canelle and Allemane only received France's armband around age 20."
"Henry once lamented that playing Spain meant just chasing the ball. But today's Spain may not be capable of that anymore. Instead, they should be beware of France's devastating wing play.
Personnel-wise, Spain face serious problems. Silva will miss the France match through suspension. Whether Xavi and Xabi Alonso recover from injury remains uncertain.
If all three midfield pillars are unavailable, Del Bosque will have a massive headache.
And if they can't defeat France away, Spain will face the humiliation of playing a potentially decisive playoff.
The World Cup holders in a playoff—that would be absolutely shameful."
Spain's shame was music to French ears.
Pure joy.
TWEEEEEET!!
Soon, as the two minutes of stoppage time expired, the referee blew for full time.
France's match was over too!
3-0. Comfortable victory over Georgia.
And simultaneously, thanks to Spain's home stumble, France had claimed top spot in the group!
"ALLEZ, LA FRANCE!!!"
The moment the final whistle sounded; the entire stadium roared as one.
France's players radiated excitement, especially Pogba and Varane—for both, this had been their international debut, and starting with such a convincing victory did wonders for their confidence.
Julien embraced his teammates one by one, everyone was buzzing about Spain's shocking result.
Back in the dressing room, Deschamps approached Julien. "The press conference—I'd like you to join me. Your first match as national team captain... you should probably make an appearance."
Julien considered for a moment, then nodded.
He disliked media interaction, but as his influence on the pitch grew, avoiding interviews became increasingly impossible.
When Julien made his first appearance at a national team post-match press conference, it caused an immediate stir. These days, Julien was absolute box office in football.
Plenty of journalists were eager to throw questions his way.
Deschamps fetched questions first.
"This was a victory within our plans. Three points are what matter most. The players executed the tactics, maintained concentration throughout.
Julien fulfilled the captain's responsibilities perfectly. Creating three goals demonstrates both his individual quality and the result of team coordination. Paul's passing was precisely timed, N'Golo and Raphael's defensive coverage created space for the attack. But the finisher needs composure and decisiveness—Julien delivered that tonight."
When asked about Julien becoming France's captain, Deschamps replied simply: "Why? Because he's the right man for the job. The overwhelming choice. It's that simple."
Regarding Spain and the group situation, he said modestly.
"Spain's draw only proves nothing in football is guaranteed. It reminds us every match is a battle. The next game against Spain—that's our final. We don't worry about others, only ourselves.
The objective is clear: at home, take victory, secure first place!
Will Spain be tougher? Of course I know that. But our advantage is unity and determination. The players know what needs doing—focus, discipline, execution. All are essential."
When Julien's turn came, he held up three fingers. "Three questions only please."
He disliked dealing with media, but if he had to step into the spotlight, he could at least keep it brief.
After momentary surprise, the journalists quickly snapped into work mode.
"Your assessment of the match?"
Julien: "We won. That's good. The goals came from team coordination. Olivier's movement, Paul's passing, N'Golo covering the entire pitch—everyone fought hard. Paul and Raphael were making their debuts, but they played well, integrated quickly."
"First time wearing the captain's armband—how did it feel?"
Julien smiled slightly. Was he supposed to spout some motivational nonsense? That was not his style. He answered with light humor, "I'm not really a 'captain.' I just want to play with my friends and mates. Win together, go crazy together. Lose together, shoulder it together. On the pitch, run one more step, shout one more time. That's it."
"Looking ahead to Spain?"
Julien: "Tough match. Strong opponents. But we're ready. See you on the pitch."
Julien's first national team press conference ended with remarkable briefness.
He and Deschamps rose and left together.
The journalists continued pondering over what they'd just heard, especially Julien's words. That line about "not really a captain, just wanting to play with my friends" seemed to have deeper layers worth exploring.
They started forming theories: maybe Julien only considered certain players his "friends"? Only those he accepted were worthy of playing alongside him?
Thinking along those lines, remembering Julien's starkly different treatment of players like Menez, Nasri, and Benzema versus Giroud and Kanté... there might be a story worth reporting there.
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