To face Ireland in the Euro qualifiers and then Germany in a friendly, Didier Deschamps is counting on Benjamin Pavard and Jules Koundé in his France group as right-backs. Either a player who has not played at the start of the season and another who is a central defender and who plays… central defender at Barça.
Certainly, the France team did not need a trained right side to reach the final of the 2022 World Cup. Benjamin Pavard quickly lost his place in favor of a central defender, Jules Koundé, and Axel Disasi was even started against Tunisia. Didier Deschamps will not try any other player for this position against Ireland, Thursday at the Parc des Princes, in the Euro qualifiers, and against Germany, the following Tuesday, in a friendly.
The tricolor coach was clear, Pavard and Koundé are the two right-backs of his group unveiled last Thursday. This always poses a small problem, all the more so after the start of the season for the two concerned. The 2018 world champion, often very reliable in this position, only played in the German Supercup on August 12 with Bayern. Since then, he has refused to train while waiting for his departure to Inter Milan, and remained on the Nerazzurri bench on Sunday evening.
Koundé fixed in the axis at Barça
As for Koundé, he is a central defender and has the “chance” to evolve in his position at the start of the season at Barça. Ronaldo Araujo started on the right before getting injured, Sergi Roberto took over and Joao Cancelo was signed in the final hours of the transfer window. The former Bordeaux player certainly had the worst matches of his career when his coach lined him up on the right side (during Portugal-France at the Euro and France-Bosnia in September 2021).
The concern for Deschamps is that the shortage of French right-backs is striking (it has been for many years). Jonathan Clauss (30), attacking fullback, is making a good start to the season with OM, but he was dismissed from the Blues ahead of the Qatar World Cup last year, when Malo Gusto (20, called up to the Espoirs by Thierry Henry) is still too tender. The coach had however created the surprise by summoning the young left side Adrien Truffert exactly one year ago.
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— French team ⭐⭐ (@equipedefrance) August 31, 2023
