Chapter 732 - 732: Chapter-730 The Next Opponent

Amid the roaring cheers of the packed stadium of French fans.

The French players didn't head straight back to the locker room. Instead, they gathered together and walked toward the section where their fans were seated—it was their continuous ritual after every match, thanking the fans who backed them.

Julien walked at the very front of the group, waving to the fans as he went.

Behind him, Giroud, Pogba, Griezmann, and the rest of his teammates followed close behind—some waving, some clapping, some flashing victory signs at the crowd.

Everyone was savouring the joy of the win to the fullest, soaking in the fans' passion in return.

When they reached the stand where the French supporters were massed.

The fans' cheering hit its peak in an instant!

Some held up banners scrawled with every kind of slogan, some waved personal posters of Julien, and others shouted the players' names at the top of their lungs...

Supporting the team however they could.

"Julien! Julien! You're incredible!" A young fan shot to his feet, screaming with everything he had, the French flag in his hand was held high. "Thank you for leading France through!"

Julien stopped and waved back at him, smiling.

Beside him, a middle-aged fan held up a Bastia jersey—Julien's old number 29 on the back.

The number he'd first worn at Bastia.

The fan shouted at the top of his voice: "Julien! You'll always be Bastia's pride! Always our captain! Next match—keep winning, no matter what!!"

The words struck a chord instantly, and the crowd roared it back: "Keep winning!!"

As captain, Julien nodded firmly, took the megaphone a fan handed him, and called out to the crowd: "Don't worry—we remember the heartbreak of the last few World Cups, and we remember what you're all hoping for! Whoever we face next, we'll give everything, fight for every inch to win and if it's Germany, we will get our revenge. We won't let you down again!"

The fans roared louder.

The noise was tremendous.

Beside him, Pogba turned and clapped Griezmann on the shoulder, brimming with excitement, his voice was soft but full of emotions: "Bro, you seeing this? This is the World Cup right here. The stands going wild, winning it together with your brothers—this feeling is incredible. I love this so much."

Griezmann grinned and nodded. "Right? Celebrating a win like this together—it beats scoring any goal."

Then, Griezmann pulled off his jersey, signed it, and hurled it into the stands. Fans scrambled over each other for it; the one who caught it leapt up in triumph, cheering at the top of his voice, the whole section was erupting.

Giroud waved to the fans too.

The players' responses only whipped the crowd into a greater frenzy.

A few young fans held up a drawing of Julien, shouting: "Julien, I want your autograph!"

Seeing them, Julien smiled, took the pen a staff member handed him, walked to the edge of the stand, and signed for the kids—even reaching out to gently ruffle one boy's hair.

"Keep working hard," he said warmly. "Someday, we'll be out here fighting for French football together."

The young fans' eyes brimmed with tears of excitement. They clutched Julien's signed posters tight, unwilling to let go.

Not far off, Giroud turned to the teammates around him, smiling: "This win feels so good. Looking at the fans like this, and looking at us—all of us brothers—I suddenly feel like every bit of it was worth it."

Varane nodded again and again beside him, his eyes were full of longing: "This is the magic of football. This is what the World Cup means. Fighting side by side, sharing the joy together—that's a feeling you never forget, not your whole life."

The lap of thanks went on for over ten minutes.

The players circled the pitch, waving the whole way.

Passing the joy on to every single fan in the stands.

Along the way, Pogba drifted back over to Julien. "Captain, having you out there—it puts us so at ease. Watching you dribble past five men and score twice, and then looking up at the fans... this really is the World Cup moment I've dreamed of my whole life."

Julien laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. "Keep playing like that and you'll have plenty of fun of your own."

At last, the players gathered together once more and bowed deeply toward the fans.

When the lap of thanks was over, they walked slowly toward the players' tunnel to the sound of the crowd's cheers.

The fans in the stands kept cheering, kept shouting, until the players' figures disappeared down the tunnel—only then did the noise begin to die away.

After the match:

Once the post-match ceremony and media interviews were done, the French players boarded the bus back to their hotel.

Unlike the stifling heat of the stadium, the hotel rooms hummed with cool air conditioning, chasing the last of the day's heat from their bodies.

The players didn't scatter to their rooms to rest. Instead, they gathered in a conference room to watch the next match together.

They wanted to see with their own eyes who their next potential opponent would be—Germany, or Algeria.

The pre-match ceremony had already begun on screen.

The commentator was still talking: "The two sides have met twice in history, and remarkably, Germany lost both times—scoring just one goal while conceding four. They come in at a disadvantage.

Beyond the 0-2 friendly defeat in 1962, the most famous meeting was the first round of the group stage at the 1982 World Cup, when West Germany fell 1-2 to Algeria in a stunning upset. Then, in the final round, West Germany and Austria played out what looked suspiciously like a fixed result, and Algeria was left to exit the tournament in bitter disappointment.

It was because of that World Cup that every major tournament since has scheduled the final round of group-stage matches simultaneously.

In fact, Algeria remains the only African team ever to defeat Germany — they carry a psychological edge into this one..."

"...In this match, Germany's starting lineup features an astonishing seven Bayern players—a new record..."

Julien listened.

He knew, of course, that in this timeline's original World Cup, Germany had gone on to win it all.

But he'd long since forgotten how it happened.

The match kicked off before long.

In the 8th minute, Algeria played a long ball out of the back, sending Slimani through on goal one-on-one and when Neuer came flying out of his box to make the tackle and clear the danger, a low gasp rippled through the conference room.

Pogba bolted upright. "My god, look at Neuer's reaction time! That's not a keeper; that's basically a defender out there—what a decisive charge!"

Giroud nodded along. "No question, Neuer's always been elite. Coming that far out to save a play like that—hardly anyone else can do it. Germany's back line is rock solid with him behind it."

Julien offered a note of his own: "His positioning and anticipation are precise. That's something we'll need to watch for if we end up facing Germany."

After all, this was the man plenty of people considered the best goalkeeper in the world.

And Julien remembered someone once crunching the numbers and finding that Neuer's total distance covered over a match could even outpace Messi's.

On screen, as the match wore on, Germany pushed forward again and again.

Khedira's long-range shot, Ozil's cross, Müller's header—wave after wave of threats on Algeria's goal, and every one of them turned away by M'Bolhi, high and low, hand after hand.

In the 13th minute, Khedira let fly from outside the box with his left foot; M'Bolhi tipped it out with one hand and scooped it straight into his arms.

Griezmann couldn't help himself: "This keeper's something else too! All those dangerous shots and he's turned back every one—Algeria's defence is way tougher than we expected.

And their counters have real teeth. Their long balls and pace can give Germany real trouble. This one's not going to be easy."

Everyone nodded along.

Both keepers, honestly, looked like they were cheating a little in this match.

In the 16th minute, Slimani rose to head one home only for it to be ruled offside causing a small stir ran through the room.

Pogba pursed his lips, grinning. "So close. Tough break for Algeria there, but they're playing with tough structure. Germany's got more of the ball but they can't crack it open—and look a bit impatient."

Giroud said, "Germany cruised through the group stage—maybe they're not adjusted to knockout intensity yet. And Algeria's the only African team that's ever beaten Germany, so they've got that psychological edge. A draw here isn't a shock."

The first half ended 0-0.

The players eased up a little—some stood to stretch, some chatted, going over how the half had unfolded.

Julien found himself wondering how Deschamps was reading this match.

How would he set France up against Germany?

Deschamps and the coaching staff were watching off on their own—they needed to talk through how to approach a match against Germany.

Pogba stretched with a groan. "I didn't expect Germany to get pushed this hard by Algeria. I figured they'd cruise through."

Julien replied, "Algeria's defence has strong resilience, and their counters carry a real threat too. Germany's passing game is good, but it's missing a bit of a cutting edge. They'll probably make adjustments in the second half."

Sure enough, once the second half got underway, Löw brought on Schürrle for Götze and pushed for a sharper attack.

In the 54th minute, Lahm hit a powerful strike that grazed M'Bolhi's fingertips and drifted just wide.

Watching it, Julien had to admit—Löw still had something to him.

That was a sharp adjustment.

Once Schürrle came on, Germany's wing play picked up real energy, and the pressure on Algeria's defence kept rising.

As the clock wound down, Germany's attacks grew more relentless.

Müller's diving header was saved, a free-kick combination involving Khedira broke down—chance after chance slipped away.

The French players watching found themselves growing tense too.

In the 88th minute, Neuer came flying more than thirty meters out of his goal to clear the danger.

Pogba couldn't help but clap. "My god, the range on this guy—he's really like a defender, that's outrageous!"

Julien, watching the screen, said thoughtfully. "That kind of charge out is both a strength and a liability for him. If we end up facing Germany, we can exploit the space he leaves behind when he comes off his line—play the ball in behind."

In his mind, he was already thinking further—that there might even be a chance for a straight chip over him.

As he recalled it, Neuer had been chipped a fair few times.

In the end, ninety minutes came to a close with the two sides deadlocked 0-0, and the match went to extra time.

A lot of the French players hadn't expected Germany to be pushed this far.

It was hard not to feel a little encouraged by it.

Pogba said, "Honestly, whichever of these two goes through, I think we can handle them."

Everyone nodded along, chatting, grinning, in good spirits.

They'd expected Germany to be strong, but watching this match, they didn't seem like much after all.

Julien, though, stayed calm.

In the 91st minute—the first half of extra time, Müller squared it across and Schürrle backheeled it in. Germany broke the deadlock, 1-0, and the room went quiet in an instant.

Griezmann frowned. "That was lucky for Schürrle, but there's quality behind it too, his movement into the box is dangerous. If we draw Germany next round, we need to keep tight on him."

Even Evra, rarely one to speak up, cut in: "This is what Germany's depth looks like—even when they can't break through for ages, they still find a way to score when it counts. We can't afford to get complacent."

In the 118th minute, Schürrle went in alone and sent it back; Klose was there to finish, and Germany made it 2-0 to put the game away.

Germany had genuinely played much better in extra time.

Pogba, though, was still full of confidence. "Here it is! Germany's through after all—perfect, that means it's them next round. Our shot at revenge is here!"

Then he added, "And they just played a full extra time—we can rest up while they wear themselves out!"

Everyone laughed.

Giroud chimed in too. "Perfect. A real chance to settle the score with them—wipe out that Euros humiliation."

In the 120th minute, Djabou pulled one back for Algeria.

A goal to save some face, at least.

In the end, the final whistle blew, and Germany scraped through 2-1 over Algeria to reach the quarterfinals.

France's next opponent was officially confirmed: Germany!

Pogba clapped Julien on the shoulder, buzzing with excitement: "Captain, now we get to really go at it with Germany! With you out there, we'll definitely beat them—get our revenge!"

Julien knew Germany would go on to be the champions this time around, but he wasn't about to say so.

He just laughed. "Don't let this match fool you about Germany—maybe they're just playing possum, trying to lure us in. We need to stay clear-headed.

Germany's strong. We can't take them lightly.

That said—we're no pushovers either. If we stay united, all of us brothers giving everything we've got, we can beat them, settle the score, and keep marching toward that World Cup trophy!"

His teammates all cheered him on.

Someone shouted, "Best brothers in the whole football world!"

"Ha ha ha."

Everyone burst out laughing.

In the middle of it all, Julien caught, out of the corner of his eye, the TV cutting to a post-match close-up of Löw.

He genuinely respected the coach.

Still, if Löw had one lifelong nemesis, it had to be Spain.

His whole tenure had run straight into the Spanish dynasty.

After the 2006 World Cup on home soil ended, Löw—then still an assistant had stepped up to replace Klinsmann as Germany's new head coach, and he'd held the post ever since.

But Löw's every nightmare wore a Spanish shirt.

At the 2008 Euros, Löw led Germany to the final, only to fall to Spain and finish runner-up;

At the 2010 World Cup, Löw led Germany to the semifinals, only to lose to Spain again and miss out on the final;

At Euro 2012—thanks to the ripple effects of Julien's presence, Löw led Germany all the way to the final, and still lost to Spain, completing Spain's three-major-tournament sweep.

This World Cup was supposed to be Löw's chance to set the record straight.

Spain had already gone home. The nightmare was gone.

But in Julien's eyes, the fighting spirit was building.

France is next...

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