Qatar Academy / World Cup 2022 / France team / SOFOOT.com

The bolts came out one by one. After sacrificing his left knee to history, one first, Samuel Umtiti, fell from the structure more than three years ago and is now just hoping. “We are rediscovering the joy of playing football” . Second, after months of struggling with his body, which has rarely left him alone for four years, N’Golo Kante opened up in mid-October with a hamstring injury. Then, a few days ago, it was the third Paul Pogba that we saw coming out of his shell and confiscating, amputating the pack leader Didier Deschamps and a unique profile compass, the French team currently has none. Other than Tanguy Ndombele on a good day, the other midfielder who manages to laugh under pressure is as effective as a Juventus player. Before landing at Worlds, the Blues coach, who was without three of his four central midfield players who were so dominant here at the 2018 World Cup, the last one, Raphaël Varane, who held the record for defensive clearances in Russia, finally did. The Manchester United defender will earn a medical watch even though there are doubts that he will not play even a second before the start of the World Cup. The last few days have been softer for Deschamps, whose fall has been hit by a series of rather rare failures, but the timing of several questions is open when France’s first coach is about to fall on TF1 on Wednesday at 20:00. evening. The first is to know how long he intends to go to Qatar. 23, 24, 25, 26?

During his recent microphone speeches under the nose, Didier Deschamps did not hide his dread at the thought of taking 26 players on a plane. According to the latest rumors, it can take 24 or 25 items. Another question: what to do with some of the injured in recent weeks? Mike Maignan, who has had a calf touch and hasn’t been on the pitch since September 22nd, should still be on the roster to be watched by the Blues staff at Clairefontaine, could be very fair and would be in a package. , of course, can be changed – in case of injury, the group can be changed until the day before the first match – the wise Steve Mandanda, who has been quite noticeable with Stade Rennes since the beginning of the season. Presnel Kimpembe, who is struggling with a damaged Achilles tendon, should resume collective training with PSG, usually on Thursdays, when he has played just ten minor games in all competitions this season. Karim Benzema, on the other hand, should be over the pain felt in the quadriceps region of his left thigh for ten days. The light will normally be green for Lucas Hernandez, who played again in Bayern’s demolition of Hertha Berlin this weekend and Werder Bremen on Tuesday evening, as well as Lucas Digne and Jules Kounde. What we do know is that Didier Deschamps has been repeating for weeks: he will refuse to take a player who is physically unfit for the first game against Australia, scheduled for November 22, in his suitcase. He repeated this to Brutus a few days ago: “It is clear and obvious. I have never played a major tournament with an injured player. Going to such a tournament with players who are not in shape attracts a lot of attention, it monopolizes the medical staff too much, so I think that it is necessary to go only with healthy and healthy players. »

lay a road

Another certainty is that Deschamps lacks certainty when presenting what is being called for the third World Cup of his mandate. Today, it is difficult to know exactly who will be the chosen representatives of his defensive sector, what will be the animation chosen to start the competition by a France team that has won only one of the last six meetings – 3-4- first 1-2 to keep Antoine Griezmann, Karim Benzema and Kylian Mbappe in the center of rotations should be retained, but the installation of a 4-3-3 from the match against Australia cannot be ruled out – and the battle for which midfielders will be deployed (the Tchouaméni-Rabiot duo currently hold the line-up, but the two men have started just two games together), while recent performances have shown creativity in the sector in Pogba’s absence. confirmed that it was not. Could a surprise be lurking in the middle of this fragile painting, with soothing lights like the shimmering form of Christopher Nkunku? A few names (Martin Terrier, Manu Koné, Khephren Thuram, Axel Disasi…) have floated recently, but Marcus Thuram, who hasn’t been in the squad since the Euros, but who has become a zero-cap away country, seems unlikely. The third top scorer in the Bundesliga can believe in a ticket after the latest role change.

Olivier Giroud, whose horoscope has been in good shape for several weeks, looks set to arrive in Doha accepting the role of plan B and still has the record ahead of Thierry Henry. Deschamps’ choice at the crossroads is all the more important because this time he will have only a few days to set the course, not the big twenty – the last European Championship proved to us that the choice (Italy, Spain, Denmark) was correct. doesn’t necessarily rhyme with the impossibility of developing a strong playing identity – it should allow the Blues to do three things: find peace, erase and escape the memory of the last euro spent in uncertainty and never having success in choosing a tactical suit. maintaining the tradition of having the defending champions beheaded in the first round. On Tuesday, the 2016 and 2018 coach will choose his new bolts before switching to a 4-2-3-1 until the final and can then start designing the structure. Is he afraid? He replied in the middle of summer Team : “I didn’t come here to convince anyone that I should stay here. I’m here to win. This and nothing else: we know music. We also know its limits.

By Maxime Brigand