Paris Saint-Germain players at the World Cup: Act 4, 2014
A few days before the start of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar, we look back at the Paris Saint-Germain players' journey through the World Cup finals. Fourth step: the 2014 edition.
Four years after a 2010 World Cup without a Parisian in South Africa, Paris Saint-Germain made a comeback in Brazil. The club from the capital was represented by ten players, a new record for the club: Frenchmen Lucas Digne, Blaise Matuidi and Yohan Cabaye, Brazilians Thiago Silva and Maxwell, Italians Salvatore Sirigu, Marco Verratti and Thiago Motta, Uruguayan Edinson Cavani and Argentine Ezequiel Lavezzi, who would fail in the final against Germany.
Two Rouge et Bleu players played the competition at home: Thiago Silva and Maxwell. The former, captain of Paris Saint-Germain and the Seleção, took his team to the semi-finals, a semi-final he did not play in after picking up a yellow card in the quarter-final against Colombia, which meant he was suspended. O Monstro was not on the pitch against Germany (1-7). He returned to central defence against the Netherlands in the third-place play-off. Maxwell played the only World Cup match of his career in the same match and then retired from the national team after the World Cup.
The other South Americans were not forgotten. Edinson Cavani scored his side's first goal against Costa Rica despite a 3-1 defeat, before beating England and Italy in the group of death. Uruguay were eventually eliminated in the Round of 16 against Colombia (0-2). Ezequiel Lavezzi, who played six matches at the World Cup in Brazil, reached the final, where he lost to the Germans after a cruel defeat (0-1 a.p.). Pocho was disappointed with the final result, but still spoke of his happiness at having been part of this epic: "It's a big disappointment, it's bad to lose like that. We had chances, but we conceded that goal at the end and then we didn't have time to react. But, for me, it's still a childhood dream that came true. I'm very happy because it's not every day you get the chance to play in a World Cup final."
In Europe, the three Paris Saint-Germain Italians took part. Although the Italian adventure was short-lived with an elimination in the first round, Marco Verratti, at only 22 years of age, appears to be the only real satisfaction of the Squadra Azzurra, giving hope for a great future for the player. Salvatore Sirigu played in the first game for the Italians, against England, following the injury to Gianluigi Buffon, the man who would later wear the rouge et bleu shirt. Thiago Motta played in all three group stage matches.
The 2014 World Cup was more successful for Didier Deschamps' Les Bleus, who had three Parisians in his squad. Blaise Matuidi played five games, even scoring against Switzerland in the second game of the group stage. Yohan Cabaye, a permanent member of the France squad, played in four games (all four of the high stakes games), putting in some excellent performances, while Lucas Digne, who joined the France squad at the last minute, started against Ecuador in a final group game that was good enough for him: "It's extraordinary to play a World Cup game, especially in front of my family at the Maracaña. Everyone made me feel comfortable and confident. The Marseillaise sung with the French crowd, for my first start, is a real highlight."
