(Paris) If the 2018 world champion defender Lucas Hernandez returns after nine months of absence in the list of the French team unveiled Thursday by Didier Deschamps, N’Golo Kanté and especially Paul Pogba, who come out of almost white seasons, will still wait.
With the expected return of the neo-Parisian, the coach has selected an unsurprising group for the Euro-2024 qualifying match against Ireland on September 7 at the Parc des Princes, and the friendly match in Germany on September 12.
The eldest of the Hernandez brothers “is a top footballer with a fighting temperament. He did a good preparation, he found the competition, it’s a very good thing for the France group”, explained “DD”.
The 2018 world champion was injured in the Blues’ first match in Qatar last November against Australia. He did not return to competition until after his transfer to Paris Saint-Germain this summer.
On the other hand, it is too early for the return of two other heroes of the Russian campaign. Paul Pogba, between injuries and the blackmail affair of his brother Mathias, only played ten ends of the match last season, and N’Golo Kanté, also pursued by injuries, only nine.
Kanté regularly plays again in his new club of Al-Ittihad, in Saudi Arabia, a championship “of good level, but he comes out of an almost white season. It remains selectable at all times, ”assures the coach.
Pogba “had the pleasure of playing 20 minutes, it’s a start compared to last year, white for him”, justified Deschamps. “I believe in him and his ability to get back to his best, he has the mind and the experience, but it won’t happen by snapping his fingers. »
Deschamps referred to their “status”. “These players, he said, if I have to call them, it’s to have them in the same role as before, not a diminished role. »
The coach preferred the young guard in midfield, with Aurélien Tchouaméni and Eduardo Camavinga around Adrien Rabiot and the “boss”, Antoine Griezmann, who played the last 78 games for the Blues.
“For this gathering, I have taken the option of confirming the youngest who have met the expectations of the very high level,” Deschamps detailed about the midfielders.
He also sent a reminder shot to Benjamin Pavard and Jules Koundé, central defenders selected to play on the sides.
“Jules knows it, like Benjamin, when I call them to the France team, it’s first to be a right-back”. What if they no longer accept it? “I would think about it,” Deschamps replies. “Fullback isn’t the biggest job; in the central axis, there are many players…” he developed.
Precisely, in the center of his defense, the coach of the Blues can finally count on Ibrahima Konaté, who was uncertain, to form his starting hinge with Dayot Upamecano.
“He’s already in the recovery phase, he’s done a good job, we’ll take stock on Monday, I’m not going to take any risks of course. But he stopped for four days, followed a program, and it is very likely that he will not be affected by the Liverpool game on Sunday, “commented the coach.
In front, he did not call back Moussa Diaby to compensate for the withdrawal of Christopher Nkunku, again injured. Aston Villa’s new striker is “having a good start to the season”, noted Deschamps. “He could have been there, it’s more of a balance in the list compared to the midfielders”, but the former Parisian “is doing everything to be called up”.
Finally, when asked about the possibility for Griezmann or Mbappé to compete in the Olympics in Paris, Deschamps replied that it was “possible” that some “are concerned” and “that they want to”, “but it is not not you, not me, not “Titi” (Thierry Henry, the new coach of the Blueberries, editor’s note), not the president (of the FFF Philippe) Diallo who (will) decide, but the club presidents ”.
The coach hopes that the new boss of Les Bleuets, who was his teammate in the France team, will be able to take “the best team and not the masquerade of the last Olympics”, in 2021 in Tokyo, when many French clubs had not released their hopes, as the tournament is not on the FIFA calendar.