The Blues, reigning world football champions, compete in Qatar on November 22 against Australia. The 23 players who will aim for a third star are of course not yet known, but Didier Deschamps’ group will, for sure, be very different from the one crowned in 2018. Many have moved away from the France team and some, in difficulty, are not guaranteed to be part of the trip. Workforce review.
The luck of the draw means that the France team will once again cross paths with Australia for their entry into the running in world Cup. A little over four years ago, on June 16, 2018 in Kazan, Russia, the Blues began their journey to the title with a complicated match against the Socceroos, won 2-1. On November 22, 2022, in Al Wakrah in Qatar, the French will therefore face Australia again, their first opponent in Group D, before Denmark and Tunisia.
The 23 Blues who will compete in the World Cup in Qatar are not yet known, but it is already certain that the French group will be very different from the one who climbed to the roof of the world in 2018. From the world champion team there is four years, there’s not much left. Age, injuries, career choices and poor form have largely reshaped Didier Deschamps’ squad.
GUARDIANS
Hugo Lloris remains the number 1 goalkeeper in Didier Deschamps’ plans. Captain of the Blues since 2010, the 35-year-old Tottenham player has 139 international caps and is therefore only three units away from the record held by Lilian Thuram.
Steve Mandanda, on the other hand, no longer seems to have a future with the national team. At 37, the former lining of Lloris has undoubtedly said goodbye to the Blues. His last match played dates back to November 2020 and he has not been called up for almost a year. The ex-Marseillais, now in Rennes, was supplanted by Mike Maignan.
Alphonse Areola, he did not progress in the hierarchy. Number 3 in 2018, the West Ham player was absent from Didier Deschamps’ lists for two years, between 2019 and 2021. He has since returned to the group, without playing a single minute (his last match with the team). of France dates back to June 2019). And Maignan therefore passed him for the position of number 2 and aspirant to the position of number 1 when Lloris will stop.
DEFENDERS
Revealed at the Russian World Cup, Benjamin Pavard remains one of the players most used by Didier Deschamps as a right-back. On the left flank, Lucas Hernández is also regularly called upon, although he now has to face competition from his brother Theo.
On the axis, on the other hand, Samuel Umtiti has disappeared. Worn down by a bruised left knee for years, the defender only played one game last season with FC Barcelona. With the Blues, his last appearance on a pitch dates back more than three years. He is currently looking for a new club in hopes of reviving his career, aged 28.
Raphael Varane is also worth it. Moved from Real Madrid to Manchester United last summer, the 29-year-old Frenchman had a complicated first season in England. Held back by several physical problems, he has missed a few international meetings in recent months. Doubts that benefit Presnel Kimpembereplacing in 2018 (a match played against Denmark) and now a contender for a starting place, like other defenders who have arrived in recent years.
Barring a miracle, Adil Rummy, he will no longer wear the jersey hit by the rooster. The defender, today in Troyes, announced his international retirement after the world title. We finally saw him again with the Blues in the months that followed. But the 36-year-old Corsican appears a far cry from international level, especially after mixed experiences in recent years. Djibril Sidibe has also lost contact with the France team. He has not worn this tunic for more than four years and is currently without a club after two mixed seasons in Monaco.
Benjamin Mendy, meanwhile, is a special case. Sportingly, the left-back had already regressed since 2018, partly due to serious injuries. And his career has been on hold for a year now, while the player is the subject ofcharges of rape and sexual assault in England. His trial is currently being held.
ENVIRONMENTS
Indispensable to the French team for almost ten years, Blaise Matuidi decided to leave Europe mid-2020, after three seasons at Juventus. The former Parisian joined the United States and Inter Miami. A career choice that cut him off from the France group. Steven Nzonzi also has very little chance of tasting the national team again. His last selection dates back almost two years, and for the past year he has been playing in the Qatari championship, at Al Rayyan, far from the standards of the very high level.
For Corentin Tolisso, the next few weeks are going to be important. After serious injuries that ruined part of his career at Bayern Munich and almost cost him his career, the midfielder returned to Olympique Lyonnais, his training club, this summer. This may be an opportunity to relaunch with a view to the World Cup, while Didier Deschamps still appealing to him last year. Thomas Lemar also has a playing card. Connected to alternating current at Atlético de Madrid, the ex-Monegasque can render services and remains in the small papers of the coach.
Didier Deschamps, on the other hand, has reason to worry about the pair N’Golo Kante-Paul Pogba, resplendent in 2018. The first still has tireless lungs, but he has been hampered several times by knee problems, for a year. Previously, muscle injuries had also disturbed him. Its state of form remains a question mark.
his friend Paul Pogba, he worries even more. “La Pioche” is coming out of two very difficult seasons at Manchester United, between a badly damaged and operated right ankle and muscle pain. Back at Juventus this summer, the French hoped to start again: a new serious injury to the right knee stopped him. Paul Pogba decided not to have surgery in order to be able to play in the World Cup. But what state will he be in three months?
FORWARDERS
Party at Betis Sevilla when leaving the cocoon of Lyon in 2019, Nabil Fekir performs quite respectably in Spain. Maybe he lacks visibility at Betis, or maybe there is too much competition at the Blues. In any case, the left-hander has not seen the France team for two years. Florian Thauvin, he is even further, literally and figuratively. His last cap dates back more than three years, and his departure from Marseille to Mexico and the Tigers, in 2021, did not help him to regain a place in the group.
Ousmane Dembele, he is always an element that Didier Deschamps takes into account in his lists. But in five seasons in Catalonia, the Barcelonan has multiplied stays in the infirmary (nearly 700 days). Be careful not to be betrayed again by his body. Olivier Giroud, long irremovable, saw his playing time diminish and his status called into question by the return of Karim Benzema. The striker remains an option appreciated by Didier Deschamps, however, and his performances at AC Milan play in his favor.
Antoine Griezmann been going through a difficult period for three years now. The transplant to FC Barcelona did not work, between 2019 and 2021. Since then, “Grizou” has been returned on loan to Atlético de Madrid. But even there, his star is fading: supporters are still having trouble digesting his departure from Barça, and on the ground, the performances are far from equal to those of his first stint (2014-2019). Griezmann is still a Blues executive, but it might not be forever.
Finally, Kylian Mbappe emerges as the most resplendent Blue of 2018, and has done so for several seasons already. Untenable with PSG, an insatiable scorer, he was at the heart of a soap opera which ended with a “no thanks” to Real Madrid. Only downside: this shot on goal missed during Euro 2021 against Switzerland. Apart from that, Kylian Mbappé wants to be the undisputed leader of a France team that he pulls up.