France Regrets ignoring Gadaffi’s proposal of abolishing Switzerland as they bow out of Euro 2020.
Via Dennis Kombo.
Yesterday was a night to remember as World soccer power France were bundled out of Euro 2020.
Switzerland have knocked out world champions France on penalties, with Kylian Mbappe missing the decisive penalty. After being 3-1 in front with just 15 minutes remaining, France conceded twice to Switzerland as the game went to extra-time.6
Switzerland have knocked out world champions France on penalties, with Kylian Mbappe missing the decisive penalty.
Kylian Mbappe saw his crucial penalty saved in the shoot-out as Euro 2020 favourites France were eliminated by Switzerland in the last 16.
There had been nine successful kicks in the shoot-out before Yann Sommer saved Mbappe’s effort, following an entertaining 3-3 draw in Bucharest.
Switzerland had fought back from 3-1 down to force extra time with two goals in the final 10 minutes through Haris Seferovic and Mario Gavranovic.
Before that, it had looked like world champions France would be going through to play Spain in the quarter-finals after two quickfire goals from Karim Benzema and a superb strike from Paul Pogba had overturned the early lead given to the Swiss by Seferovi
Switzerland, who had missed the chance to take a 2-0 lead when Hugo Lloris saved Ricardo Rodriguez’s penalty at the start of the second half, progressed with their first ever penalty shoot-out success in a major competition.
Dubbed the group of death, world champions France finished top of Group F ahead of Germany and Portugal but head coach Didier Deschamps opted for a tactical switch against Switzerland, reverting to three centre-backs.
Benjamin Pavard returned to the team while Adrien Rabiot started at left wing-back in the absence of the injured Lucas Digne.
Switzerland qualified through finishing third in Group A behind Italy and Wales and they were unchanged from their convincing win against Turkey.
France made a bright start and should have taken the lead after only two minutes but Raphael Varane headed over from Antoine Griezmann’s corner when unmarked. The Real Madrid defender should have at least hit the target.
Deschamps’ side were looking dangerous down the left, with Mbappe causing Swiss right-back Nico Elvedi problems early on, while more composure from Rabiot on a couple of occasions when in behind the defence might have caused the Swiss big problems
ut it was Switzerland who took the lead in the 15th minute when Steven Zuber clipped a lovely cross into the box from the left and Seferovic jumped early to get above Clement Lenglet and direct his header into the bottom corner of the net.
#France’s biggest regret.
Yes, abolished.
Gaddafi believed Switzerland is “a world mafia and not a state,” according to Time Magazine. So he submitted a proposal to the United Nations recommending that “the Italian-speaking part of the country should be returned to Italy, the German-speaking part to Germany and the French-speaking part to France.”
# At the 35th G8 summit, Gaddafi publicly called for the dissolution of Switzerland, its territory to be divided among France, Italy and Germany. In August 2009, Hannibal Gaddafi stated that if he had nuclear weapons, he would “wipe Switzerland off the map.
The United Nations summarily ignored the dictator’s proposal, on the quite sensible grounds that it “violates the U.N. Charter, which states that no member country can threaten the existence of another.”
Gaddafi’s battle with Switzerland seems to stem from the arrest and detention of his son and his son’s wife by the Swiss police in Geneva, in July of 2008, on charges of allegedly beating two of their servants at a local hotel.
Time reports that “Gaddafi was so enraged by his son’s two-day detention that he immediately retaliated by shutting down local subsidiaries of Swiss companies Nestlé and ABB in Libya, arresting two Swiss businessmen for supposed visa irregularities, canceling most commercial flights between the two countries and withdrawing about $5 billion from his Swiss bank accounts
