Four years after revealing himself to the French with his goal against Argentina, Benjamin Pavard will experience in Qatar, at 26, his second World Cup with the Blues. Profile, statistics, career with the France team and state of form for the World Cup…
Benjamin Pavard was called up by Didier Deschamps on November 9 to take part in his second
World Cup with the France team. With 46 selections and a World Cup to his credit, the
Bayern defender Munich is one of the executives of the French group and will be in Qatar one of the men of
base of Didier Deschamps, with whom he has a strong relationship. And this despite a Euro 2021 winded and
irregular performances with the blue jersey in recent months.
Often present with the Blues in the youth categories, Benjamin Pavard had his first
selection with the France A team on November 10, 2017 against Wales, when he replaced
Christophe Jallet during the match. He saw his first tenure in the last game of the Blues before
the World Cup, March 27, 2018, which does not prevent him from being one of the 23 players selected
by Didier Deschamps to compete in the World Cup in Russia.
Competing with Djibril Sidibé in friendly matches before the start of the World Cup, the VfB Stuttgart side started in the Blues’ first match against Australia (2-1). Despite the sluggish match of the French, he will not leave the starting lineup and Didier Deschamps makes him an indisputable holder. Benjamin Pavard then revealed himself to France and the whole world thanks to his superb goal in the round of 16 against Argentina (4-2). Voted the most beautiful goal of the Russian World Cup by Fifa, this gesture takes the right side into another dimension and will allow the Blues to reach the final, won against Croatia (4-2) on July 15, 2018.
After sixteen games with the France A team, Benjamin Pavard experienced his first defeat in a 2-0 defeat in Rotterdam against the Netherlands. Well established as a starter with the Blues, the right side is part of the team that wins the League of Nations against Spain on October 10, 2021 (2-1) and adapts to the tactical change decided by Didier Deschamps after the return of Karim Benzema in the tricolor jersey, even if he is less comfortable in this role of piston on the right side. Called up for the Euro
2021, he signs mixed performances, like the French team eliminated in the round of 16 by Switzerland. Despite sawtooth performances, Didier Deschamps did not hesitate long before calling him in the list of 26 players to compete in the World Cup in Qatar. Especially since the coach seems to have decided to go back to a four-man defense, in which Benjamin Pavard is more comfortable. The Bayern defender should once again be the starter on the right of the French team’s defense and certainly hopes to repeat his performance from four years ago in Russia.
Born in the North of France, Benjamin Pavard carried out the tests with the clubs of LOSC or RC Lens, at the age of 10. He joins the first and goes through the stages until the signing of his first professional contract. In 2015, he began his professional football career with a match against FC Nantes. Often a starter during the 2015-2016 season, the defender was then relegated to the bench with the arrival of a new coach. Dissatisfied with his playing time, Benjamin Pavard decides to leave France, heading to Germany. Across the Rhine, he put his bags in the locker room of VfB Stuttgart which was then playing in Bundesliga 2, after a transfer valued at 5 million euros, one of the most expensive in the history of the German club. Very quickly, the Frenchman established himself among the team’s leading players and participated in the club’s rise in the Bundesliga. At the very beginning of 2019, Benjamin Pavard was announced among the upcoming transfers to major European clubs. He finally joined the Bayern Munich club during the summer, for a sum of 35 million euros, and quickly established himself as a starter.
During the 2019-2020 season, he joined the list of players most used by the Bayern Munich coach, well helped by his versatility which allowed him to find his place in different positions in the Munich defense. In August 2020, in a particular context linked to the Covid-19 pandemic, he won the Champions League with Bayern Munich. Aged only 24, Benjamin Pavard then became the youngest French footballer to lift the trophy in the most prestigious club competition.
Benjamin Pavard could very well leave Germany and Bayern soon. The defender of the Bavarian club recently confided in L’Equipe on his desire to discover a new championship and new challenges, after having won everything with Bayern: “There were no specific discussions (concerning an extension , editor’s note). For the moment, I am focused on the World Cup, on being the best possible in a very big club, one of the best in the world. I have a huge respect for the Bayern, I learned there the requirement of the very high level and it is an honor to wear this shirt. Afterwards, I have been in Germany for seven years, I have won everything with the club, he said. he explained. I’m not against discovering a new project. It may be the right time. Why not discover a new country, a new culture? But the sports project must be interesting. (…) I I may have been around here, but I’m in a very big club, so I’m not going to leave for nothing. I’m not doing fictional scripts, we’ll see that They will be the options and we will discuss with Bayern. “