French team flies out of Qatar as FIFA lauds World Cup attendance

Losing finalist France become the last team to leave the World Cup as FIFA announces that the Qatar tournament attracted more than 3.4 million spectators, making it one of the most watched ever.

The French team left their hotel to fly back to France following their defeat on penalties by Argentina yesterday in one of the most acclaimed World Cup finals ever.

Coach Didier Deschamps said the manner of his side’s defeat, after twice fighting back to level scores 3-3 at the end of extra time, had been “cruel.” He refused to give an immediate answer on his own future.

Doha begins a post-World Cup cleanup, starting to take away the tens of thousands of crowd barriers around the city’s streets.

“Attendance for the final match pushed the cumulative total for this FIFA World Cup over 3.4 million spectators, with an average attendance capacity of 96.3 percent,” FIFA says.

The 1994 World Cup in the United States had the most spectators with more than 3.5 million. Brazil in 2014 also had more than 3.4 million spectators.

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