That night, Julien called Kevin De Bruyne to lift his spirits.
It really looked like they had a shot at meeting in the final now!
The next day, Brazil's media was still absorbed on Neymar's injury.
More and more voices were deliberatng in on it.
Whether out of genuine concern or just to ride the wave of attention, the whole thing had exploded into a firestorm.
Julien looked through the coverage. Most pundits were focused on analysing exactly how much Brazil would suffer without Neymar.
But among all of it, one comment stopped him cold—he found himself genuinely impressed.
It came from none other than Chelsea's current manager, José Mourinho.
His read on it was extremely sharp: the suspension of centre-back Thiago Silva was more damaging than Neymar's absence.
"Brazil need Neymar, because he can win one-on-one duels, because he breaks the balance for his team, because he scores and delivers spectacular free kicks. But I have to say—Thiago Silva's suspension might, at this moment, be more serious than Neymar's injury.
His absence is going to hurt them badly. Brazil's entire defensive structure is built around Thiago Silva. He's the one who holds the whole team stable."
Working backward from what he already knew of the outcome, Julien understood exactly how much Brazil's back line would fall apart without Thiago Silva.
But hardly anyone else could see that yet.
Everyone was still fixated on how devastating Neymar's absence would be.
After all, most fans didn't understand tactics, didn't understand what a defender was really worth. All they saw were the forwards streaking through the front line, scoring one goal after another.
Football, after all, was a game about scoring.
Whoever put the ball in the net was the hero of the team.
You could see it in every awards ceremony—forwards were always the favourites.
Of course, that didn't mean defence didn't matter.
If any single position on the pitch was visibly weak, it became a liability.
In the top-level matches, what decided everything was who made fewer mistakes.
That was exactly why, once a tournament reached the semifinals and finals, the scorelines rarely blew wide open.
There was a saying for it: no big names in a final. It was true for a reason.
That same day, the French national team began preparing for their match against Brazil.
Out on the training pitch, Deschamps stood with his hands clasped behind his back and spoke slowly. "Yesterday's win is worth celebrating. But it's worth reviewing with a clear head, even more."
"We won against Germany a man down, in the worst possible position. That was down to your resilience, your unity, and every one of you rising to the moment when it mattered most. But I have to remind you all—that was one match won. It's not the finish line. The real test is only just beginning."
He paused, and his expression turned graver. "You've all seen the Brazil-Colombia match. You all know their situation now: Neymar's out with a serious injury, gone for the rest of the tournament. Thiago Silva's picked up his second yellow, suspended for the next match. There's no point in denying it—that's a massive advantage for us."
Bringing up Brazil's troubles, if anything, made Deschamps sharpen his tone. He warned the team again and again. "But I will not allow a single one of you to grow careless because of it. I will not allow any of you to think Brazil are suddenly beatable."
"Neymar is Brazil's core. His absence really will cut into their attacking strength. Silva's suspension really will open holes in their back line. But Brazil has deep footballing roots. Even without their key men, they still have other players with strong quality. We cannot underestimate them, even for a second.
And more than that—this is Brazil. This is their home soil. Remember this: the crowd here is going to scream for them with everything they have, and that kind of home energy can push a team to perform well beyond their normal level."
Deschamps walked in front of the players, his eyes were moving across Julien, Lloris, Pogba, and the rest. "We have an advantage. That's a fact. We've been tested in the worst circumstances and come through. We have a team that stands together. Those things give us confidence."
"But an advantage isn't a win. A gap isn't a guarantee of advancing. On a football pitch, one moment of carelessness can cost you everything."
"Going forward, what we need to do is respect this advantage while respecting our opponent just as much. We need to study Brazil's tactical adjustments carefully. We need to target our defence at their specific weaknesses—especially the gaps that open up in their attack and defence once Neymar and Silva are gone. And at the same time, we need to keep sharpening our own game."
By the time he finished, the players were all nodding.
Julien looked around at his teammates' serious expressions and nodded along too. What Deschamps had just said really needed saying.
Because yesterday, the moment Neymar and Thiago Silva's absences were confirmed—one of their teammates had actually said France's spot in the final was basically locked in.
They really did need to cool down a little.
Once the talk ended, Deschamps moved straight into targeted tactical drills. Brazil's greatest strength was their creativity but they had a weakness too.
Discipline.
Brazil tended to fall into players doing their own thing rather than working as a unit, and that was exactly what Deschamps wanted to exploit. He wanted France's tight tactical shape to be the counter to Brazil's individual brilliance.
Passing, positioning, defending—every single motion was drilled over and over.
All so that nothing would be left to chance in the coming match.
During breaks in training, the players mostly sat around together, talking about their opponents, dreaming about the World Cup trophy.
They were so close now. So very close…
After training wrapped up that day, Deschamps had the squad gather in the meeting room to watch two crucial quarterfinal matches.
Argentina against Belgium, followed by Netherlands against Costa Rica.
The third quarterfinal of the 2014 Brazil World Cup kicked off right on schedule at the Estádio Nacional in Brasília.
Argentina versus Belgium.
The commentator ran through the two sides' history: in World Cup competition, they'd met twice before.
At the 1982 World Cup group stage, Argentina lost 0-1 to Belgium; at the 1986 World Cup semifinal, Argentina beat Belgium 2-0. This meeting was both a chance to settle old scores and a fierce fight for a place in the final four.
The starting lineups were announced. Argentina made three changes—Demichelis, Basanta, and Biglia all started, with Rojo suspended after picking up two yellow cards. Belgium made one change—Mirallas started in place of Mertens, with Vertonghen and Vermaelen both out through injury.
From the opening whistle, both sides came out swinging, the pace was fast as attack and defence was flipping back and forth at speed.
The goal came fast.
In the 7th minute, Di María's through pass down the right deflected off a defender and changed direction; Higuaín met it in the middle of the box and fired a low right-footed shot into the bottom left corner.
1-0!
Argentina had the dream start—Higuaín's first goal for the national team since August the last year.
Julien's eyes stayed fixed on De Bruyne on the screen. As a Liverpool teammate, he couldn't help hoping in his heart that De Bruyne would lead Belgium past Argentina.
De Bruyne actually had a decent match.
In the 25th minute, Witsel found him with a pass, and De Bruyne struck a powerful right-footed shot from the edge of the box—Romero flew across goal to push it away.
Two minutes later, Messi sent a long ball through the middle. Di María struck a left-footed shot from the centre of the box, blocked by Kompany but the effort left him with a torn muscle in his right thigh.
Argentina immediately brought on Enzo Pérez in his place.
Julien let out a soft sigh. "Another key man down," he murmured.
Di María mattered enormously to Argentina!
Not long after, the second half kicked off with neither side making a substitution.
The match stayed just as intense.
In the 54th minute, Higuaín burst forward on a long counterattacking run, nutmegging Kompany before pushing a low right-footed shot toward goal from inside the box, one on one—it sailed past Courtois but crashed off the crossbar and out.
A soft gasp rippled through the meeting room.
It was the closest either side came to a goal in the second half!
Higuaín had wasted another one-on-one chance!
After that both sides traded chance after chance, the physical contact was growing rougher, yellow cards were piling up, both managers started making substitution after substitution trying to break the deadlock.
But in the end, neither side found the net.
The final whistle blew.
Argentina held on for a 1-0 win over Belgium, reaching the semifinals for the first time in 24 years, since 1990.
Julien felt for De Bruyne.
He pulled out his phone and quickly typed a message to send him: "Hey man, I watched the match. You did great out there. Don't be too hard on yourself—everyone saw how well you played. Rest up. There'll be more chances ahead. Let's keep pushing together."
After sending it, he put his phone away and shook his head helplessly.
He knew competitive sport always came with heartbreak. All he could do was make sure that heartbreak never fell on him.
The French players were also talking amongst themselves about whether Argentina could reach the final.
That South American powerhouse really was strong.
Two hours later, the final quarterfinal kicked off right on schedule.
At the Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador, Netherlands faced Costa Rica.
This match would decide the last spot in the semifinals.
Once it began, unlike the Argentina-Belgium match, both sides played it cautiously.
Constant probing, attack and defence holding each other in check, neither side was able to create a clear chance, the pace was gradually slowing.
At the end of 90 minutes, the two teams finished level, 0-0.
The match went to extra time!
Through extra time, neither side could break the deadlock—every Dutch attack, every Costa Rican counter, absorbed and cleared by the opposing defence.
At the end of 120 minutes, the score was still 0-0, and the match went to a penalty shootout—the third shootout of the knockout stage at this World Cup, and the second in a row Costa Rica had needed just to survive.
The most surprising moment came at the very end, when the Netherlands used their final substitution on their goalkeeper.
Krul came on, replacing Cillessen who had let in every single one of the 16 penalties he'd ever faced.
That single change turned out to be the turning point of the shootout.
Each round, Costa Rica took their kick first. In the first round, both Borges and Van Persie went to the goalkeeper's bottom right—Krul and Navas both guessed the right way, but both shots still found the net. 1-1.
From the second round on, Costa Rica fell apart.
Ruiz went low to the goalkeeper's right and Krul saved it; Robben sent Navas the wrong way and buried his shot to the left. Netherlands led 2-1.
In the fifth round, Umaña went to the goalkeeper's right and Krul made another brilliant save.
The Netherlands won the shootout 4-3, advancing to the semifinals, where they would face Argentina.
Once the match ended, a low murmur spread through the meeting room, the players were talking over the shootout.
Once the viewing was done, the players didn't linger. They headed back to their rooms to get ready for the next day's training.
Julien also got a reply from De Bruyne, it was just a few simple lines: "Thanks, man. I'm okay. Get ready for your match. Can't wait to see you shine."
With the final four now set—the outside world erupted in discussion, everyone was debating who would come out on top.
And this particular semifinal lineup was fascinating.
Brazil vs. France.
Argentina vs. Netherlands.
South America against Europe!
Which made it even more of a talking point.
No European team had ever won a World Cup held in the Americas. Would this be the time it finally happened?
Now that Brazil, originally the favourite everyone had their money on—had stumbled—
South American fans had rallied even harder behind Argentina. The only shame was that Argentina had also lost a core player Di María.
Time slipped by quickly.
Soon it was two days before the Brazil-France match.
Ever since Neymar's injury had ruled him out for the rest of the World Cup, Brazil's tactical setup and squad changes had been under intense scrutiny from the Brazilian press.
And from the French camp too.
In these past two days, Antônio Lopes—the veteran coach who had helped Scolari lift the World Cup trophy back in 2002 claimed that Scolari would definitely deploy a 4-3-3 with a three-man midfield, and that as Neymar's replacement, his pick would be Chelsea's Willian.
During the 2002 World Cup, Antônio Lopes had worked alongside Murtosa as part of Scolari's technical staff, and his input on tactics had played a strong part in Brazil's eventual title.
Through years of working together, Lopes understood Scolari's tactical philosophy inside and out—he claimed to have the man's every move figured out.
Speaking to Brazil's Rede Globo, he insisted Big Phil would go with a three-man midfield. "As far as I know, Scolari is going to field a three-defensive-midfielder setup. He's been drilling it for a long time now."
"But if I were the coach, I wouldn't do it. In football, you have to make decisions based on the team's actual reality. Right now, the first thing we need to solve is Neymar's absence. If we bring in a three-man midfield, it changes the entire way the team plays and that's a reckless thing to do.
For me, the best decision is to bring in Willian and keep the same formation. If he plays, he won't change the team's usual style of play. He has good technical quality, just like Neymar. Their attributes are actually quite similar. If he plays, we can preserve the team's tactics to the greatest possible extent."
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