PARIS — This was supposed to be the night, the moment, the game. This was supposed to be when France finally cast off all those years of shackles of chokes in big games. This was supposed to be when a raucous home crowd in the capital’s grand cathedral of soccer empowered this team with the mental strength that has so often left them short against less skilled opponents.
And above all, this was supposed to be the night when France finally beat the Americans in a game that mattered. Not just a friendly, as the last three meetings were, but a real, big, meaningful, potentially era-defining clash in a major tournament.