Didier Deschamps claimed that despite France’s agonizing loss to Argentina in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 final, Les Bleus still have a wealth of talented players who proved their worth in Qatar.
Some of France’s best players, including 2022 Ballon d’Or winner and star striker Karim Benzema, as well as midfielders Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante, were disqualified from the competition before the opening match. Others included the defender Presnel Kimpembe and the forward Christopher Nkunku.
Kante and Pogba were both essential members of Deschamps’ national team lineup, thus their injuries had a significant impact on his preparations for the midfield. They were crucial to Les Bleus’ triumph four years ago in Russia.
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The absence of these players meant Deschamps opted for exciting young Real Madrid midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni and established squad star Adrien Rabiot in the heart of the French midfield.
“Potentially, the French team has always had a huge amount of players to choose from. Of course, before this competition, even if they were young players who didn’t have much experience, they proved that they could be at a high level,” Deschamps said after the final match.
“Others weren’t here but could be there next time. Of course, we always need experienced players to help the younger players,” added the 54-year-old, who had young players like Kylian Mbaape, Kolo Muani, William Saliba, Camavinga, Tchouameni, and Kingsley Coman all less than 27 years of age.
Deschamps said young French players have to be properly recruited and stressed Les Bleus always has choices and a group to shape and train to have a united spirit in addition to the quality.
“I wasn’t worried before, and I’m not going to worry now for the future. But, we were in the final of the 2016 Euros and the final in 2018 (World Cup), where we won; we won the Nations League.
“We were eliminated pretty early from the last Euros, and now we are in the championship game. There were a ton of players present during these matches. There is a maturity age, though, so if you strike the right balance, you’ll have young players who can compete at the highest level, just as it was for some of them four years ago and just as it is at this World Cup.
With a multitude of youthful players and returning squad regulars, France will enter the Nations League the following year. Stars like Antoine Griezmann (31), Paul Pogba (29), and Raphael Varane (29) will act as a bridge between generations.
