French fans in S'pore disappointed by World Cup loss to Spain

SINGAPORE – It was a disappointing end to Bastille Day for French students Theo Lim and Margaux Flasque as Les Bleus lost 2-0 to Spain in the World Cup semi-finals.

Eager to cheer on France on their National Day, the duo followed the action with about 200 fans at a public watch party at The Seletar Mall in the wee hours of July 15.

It was still July 14 over in Europe and at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, where the clash took place over 15,000km away.

While The Seletar Mall screening drew an understandably smaller turnout than the England-Norway quarter-final played over the weekend, the crowd of predominantly Singaporean fans was no less enthusiastic.

Many made themselves comfortable on either the mall’s football-themed inflatable seats or their own foldable chairs. Others were content to sit on the green carpet or park themselves on the second, third or fourth floor to follow the action from the big screen in the atrium.

It did not take them long to come alive when La Roja were awarded a penalty after Lucas Digne fouled Lamine Yamal in the box, allowing Mikel Oyarzabal to open the scoring with a 22nd-minute penalty.

Lim in his white French top and Flasque with her red-and-yellow Lens jersey were conspicuous among the mainly local crowd and their downcast expressions made them stand out further. But they tried to remain upbeat and predicted a comeback when engaged by the emcee.

After all, the last time a World Cup match was played around their National Day, France lifted the trophy after beating Croatia 4-2 in the final in Russia on July 15, 2018.

But while the fans in Seletar could give themselves a half-time boost with $8 beers and offerings from MOS Burger, Didier Deschamps’ pep talk at the AT&T Stadium did not quite work.

Just 13 minutes after the restart, Pedro Porro played a one-two with Dani Olmo before finishing France off with a clinical shot.

The goal was met with loud cheers from the Spain supporters, and they were once again in full voice when Kylian Mbappe’s effort was deflected wide and Desire Doue could not capitalise against an out-of-position Unai Simon.

Lim, a 21-year-old from the outskirts of Paris, said: “We saw on Instagram that the atmosphere at this mall was good, and it was a great experience to watch the match with everyone, but unfortunately we lost.

“I’m quite sad, to be honest. We weren’t good in this game, and it was very hard against a very good team.”

Flasque, a 22-year-old from Lens, said: “Overall, we are proud of our team, and I hope they will win the next major tournament at Euro 2028, but I’m still a little bit disappointed now.

“Today, there were not many attacks. Michael Olise didn’t show up in this match, and perhaps the entire team also. It was a fair result and Spain deserved the victory.”

Despite the 3am weekday kick-off in Singapore, it was clear that World Cup fever has swept across the island.

Large gatherings were also seen in other public screenings at venues such as Chijmes, the Kallang Wave Mall, Our Tampines Hub and One Punggol.

Back at The Seletar Mall, 13-year-olds Liu Hao Yang and Lu Yu Xuan, who live in the vicinity, made the most of school breaks due to O-level oral exams to attend their first watch party.

Gleefully celebrating Spain’s victory, Yu Xuan paid tribute to the European champions’ solid defence which has conceded just once in seven games at this World Cup.

Decked in a blue Real Madrid jersey, he said: “(Marc) Cucurella was crucial today with two big blocks to prevent a France comeback and help Spain win.”

Hao Yang, who was wearing Spain’s off-white away kit with Pedri’s name, believes that Luis de la Fuente’s men will not fear England or defending champions Argentina in the July 19 final.

He added: “I think they can go all the way. If they score first like they did today, the team will have the confidence and motivation to win the final.”

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