Thijs Dallinga, Stijn Spierings, Branco van den Boom and Zakaria Aboukhlal have won the Coupe de France with Toulouse. On the basis of the Dutch, the PhD student made mincemeat of Cup holder Nantes before half time. Halfway through it was already 4-0 and eventually the first cup win since 1957 was no longer in danger for Toulouse: 5-1.
A packed Stade de France was preparing for an exciting cup final between the numbers 12 (Toulouse) and 16 (Nantes) of the Ligue 1. However, it soon turned out that it would not be a very exciting final battle in Paris. In the fourth minute it was already hit via Logan Costa. The center defender worked the ball against the ropes after a corner kick from Branco van den Boomen. It was only Costa’s first goal of the season, but not much later he immediately doubled his number. This time Stijn Spierings was the captain for the Cape Verdean, who made it 2-0 with his head.
But Toulouse was not ready yet and in the first half hour the 3-0 and the 4-0 also followed. Twice it was Thijs Dallinga who let Nantes keeper Alban Lafont fish. The striker, for whom Excelsior received a record amount of 2.5 million euros last summer, had scored four times in five cup matches so far. At the Stade de France, he made his numbers even more impressive: six out of six.
After the break, Toulouse took it a bit easier in the French capital. There was no real talk of a Nantes comeback, although the team in yellow did appear on the scoreboard from eleven meters. Spierings made a mistake, after which Ludovic Blas converted the penalty kick. Less than five minutes later, however, the margin was already four. A free kick by Van den Boomen was not processed and that gave Aboukhlal the opportunity to hit hard. The Moroccan, who grew up in the Netherlands, hit the ropes via a player from Nantes: 5-1. It remained at that position.
Winning the Coupe de France normally provides a ticket for the Europa League, but it is very doubtful whether this will also apply to Toulouse. The club is owned by the American RedBird, the same investment company that controls AC Milan. In that case, UEFA regulations prohibit participation in the Europa League.
Noise around Stade de France
Prior to the final, there was a lot of noise at the Stade de France in Paris. There was a demonstration against President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform plans. The president was also traditionally present at the final of the Coupe de France to greet the players, but this time he did not do so on the field, but in the catacombs. There was a police force of 3,000 men. According to local media, they used batons to tackle demonstrators.
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