FRANCE PERSPECTIVE

France looks away. Italy's elimination takes up barely a line — Paris is focused on its own group: Iraq, the last qualifier, will face the Blues in Philadelphia on June 22, after Senegal and before Norway. Iraq is "on paper the most manageable opponent for France, ranked No. 1 in the FIFA standings."

This relative silence is revealing. France, world No. 1, 2018 champion, 2022 finalist, watches Italian collapse with the distance of a power managing its own concerns (World Cup preparation, instability in the Middle East disrupting travel). The story of Ali Al-Hamadi, Luton Town striker in English third division "who grew up in Liverpool after fleeing 2003 Iraq war in his parents' arms," occupies more space than the four-time world champion's elimination.

The choice to frame Iraq rather than Italy is also geopolitical. Iraqi coach Graham Arnold "had attempted to postpone the match due to disruptions caused by the Middle East conflict." Sport is linked to ongoing war — Iraqi players began their journey from Baghdad by road ten days prior. Football as mirror of world crises, not autonomous spectacle.