December 14, 2022. Before the French team traveled to Greece, Paris Saint-Germain striker Randal Kolo Muani had not found the net in the selection since his decisive entry in the semi-final of the Coupe du World 2022 against Morocco in Qatar. Almost a year of drought for the man who shone under the colors of Eintracht Frankfurt, with 8 goals scored and 12 assists delivered before joining Didier Deschamps’ group for the world tournament, lost in the final to Argentina on penalties (3-3, 4 shots on goal to 2). 343 days after opening his account against the Atlas Lions, the native of Bondy offered himself a superb shot under the bar to open the scoring before the break (42nd).
Present in the mixed zone facing journalists after the tie score at the OPAP Arena in Athens (2-2) to close the Euro 2024 qualifiers – with a first place in Group B and qualification assured after only 6 matches, the 24-year-old striker did not hide his relief after his second achievement for the selection: “this goal is good for confidence. It’s been a while since I scored in the French team, I was waiting for it and I hope it will inspire others. The objective for me was to have fun again on the pitch, to play again, I had missed it all the same. Having the ball a little more, gaining confidence… It was a question of automatisms.”
Deschamps sends a message to Enrique
An awakening in the face of the goal explained by his coach, Didier Deschamps, by his shift on the left side, leaving the forefront of the attack to Olivier Giroud, who remained with a double at the end of the match against the modest Gibraltar team (14 -0). “From the players available, I know that he was not in his best position and shifting him took some responsibility away from him in scoring, explained the French technician at a press conference. And he scores a very nice goal. Randal is more of a side player, probably also more comfortable on the right side, but there is also Ousmane (Dembélé). Throughout the first period, he was more mobile, worked, accelerated… This goal will do him good.
The double world champion (1998 as a player, 2018 as a coach) also sends a message to his Paris Saint-Germain counterpart, Luis Enrique, to put the ex-Nantes player in better shape. However, the two technicians would find themselves stuck in the same puzzle: who to position on the right of the attack? Kolo Muani or Dembélé? As a reminder, RKM has only scored 3 goals in 11 matches between Ligue 1 and the Champions League, all as number 9 in an attacking duo in the center. In any case, this international break should play a positive role in the mentality of the Parisian number 23, who will have the opportunity to materialize this confidence against Monaco next Friday for the opening match of the 13th day of the championship.
