Saint-Denis (AFP)
On the evening of the reopening of the terraces, Wednesday (9:15 p.m.), the final of the Coupe de France will pit two clubs thirsty for glory: Paris SG and Monaco, which can still achieve the double with the Championship ... like losing everything in four days.
It is the promising poster of a new era of promises.
The coincidence of the calendar made this match coincide with the start of the loosening of health restrictions in France.
After a winter dominated by the Covid-19 pandemic, the French will once again be able to have a drink at the bar or go to the cinema ... but not meet to see PSG-ASM, due to the curfew at 9:00 p.m.
For the symbol of the return of the public, it will be necessary to come back, but there is another that this closed-door final offers by playing at the Stade de France, which has become a vaccination center since April 7.
The same enclosure to accommodate footballers and people who wish to be vaccinated ... The Dean of Competitions has seen it happen since its creation in 1917, but never anything like it.
Parisians and Monegasques therefore find themselves at the crossroads of overwhelming news and a thrilling end of the season, for a shock as expected as feared by two teams who have a lot to lose.
Especially Paris, which risks ending the season without a major title, for the first time since 2012.
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"We must not forget the Champions Trophy. This is not the time to talk about the results. We have a season that will be decided on the last two matches," said captain Marquinhos.
- Neymar uncertainty -
Eliminated by Manchester City in the semi-final of the Champions League, the capital club is close to a fiasco in the league, the leader Lille ahead of him by one point before the last day on Sunday.
"We have to believe in it and we will do it," said coach Mauricio Pochettino, whose dream of crowning L1 is conditioned by a misstep from the Northerners on Sunday in Angers.
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The Coupe de France seems the easiest path to a trophy ... except there's a black cat in its path.
ASM is the only L1 team to have beaten PSG twice this season, its last success dating back to February 21 at Parc des Princes (2-0).
That evening, Neymar, injured in an adductor, had not played, and his replacement as N.10, Marco Verratti, had entered only in the 55th minute, lessened by pain in a calf.
On Wednesday, neither of these two stars is expected on the field.
The Brazilian striker is suspended, while the Italian midfielder is hit in a knee - two absences that create a void in a team dependent on their sense of creation.
But for "Ney", as for Presnel Kimpembe also suspended, the club plans to seek conciliation from the CNOSF which could allow their sanction to be temporarily lifted, and therefore to align them on Wednesday.
"We do not yet know if we will be able to count on them", assured Pochettino Tuesday evening.
- Mbappé "best player in the world" -
If Neymar did not play, Monaco would almost become favorites, but this is to forget that Pochettino can count on his flagship striker Kylian Mbappé, author of a double in each of the three Cup matches he has started this season.
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"He's the best player in the world, a player can't stop him, we'll have to defend all together," said ASM technician Niko Kovac.
The efficiency of "Kyky" will be one of the keys of the meeting, like that of his opponents Wissam Ben Yedder and Kevin Volland, a duo which carried the ASM well beyond its 9th place last year. .
Three points behind the leader Lille, the Rocher club can still hope to be crowned champion of France, but it will have to benefit from an almost improbable scenario.
As with Paris, the Cup is the most direct way to win a title.
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"I believe in it a lot," said Kovac who, with Frankfurt in 2018, in the final of the German Cup, had created a surprise against Bayern (3-1).
He too would take a haircut.
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