Argentina played so well

Question

Could anyone please suggest a phrase for the part in bold to me to sound more natural?WRITE DESCRIPTION HERE

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

HasibCould anyone please suggest a phrase for the part in bold to me to sound more natural?

They both sound natural already, but only you know whether they mean what you want to say. France (note that we capitalize countries) was down 2 to 0 at the half, which means they had been kept at bay. The expression derives from hunting, where a pack of hunting dogs would face off against a large game animal, keeping it from fleeing by biting at its hind legs if it tried to run, and snapping at it and baying when it stood and faced them while the hunters came up. Hounds are said to bay, to make a loud sort of yodeling bark, and the game is said to be "at bay". The Argentine defense and goalkeeper are the pack of hounds, and the French forwards are the lion.

Whether they had been forced into a corner is more debateable. This expression derives from its literal meaning, and it means that their options had been very much limited. I don't see how this applies so much here, and if it does, it requires explaining. Were they out of substitutions? Were they so overmatched in some aspect of the game that there was no overcoming Argentina in that regard, and they had to change their formation to their disadvantage? Did they have to put in fresh players too soon to compensate for Argentina's superiority in some aspect?

Argentina played so well

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