Water has flowed under the bridges since July 10, 2016, the date of the cruel and painful defeat of the France team against Portugal (1-0), in the final of its European Championship. If he had already scored his first goal in Ligue 1 a few months earlier with Monaco (in February, against Troyes), Kylian Mbappé was only a teenager with a baby face, far from being able to imagine the destiny woven from gold which would await him a few years later.
Moreover, at that time, the Bondynois was on the verge of winning the Euro U19 alongside Ludovic Blas and Jean-Kevin Augustin, when Warren Zaire-Emery was playing with the PSG U11s. Eight years have passed and the two players are today the face of the new generation of the France team. For those who made it up in 2016, only four survived and will be part of the French group which will travel to Germany this summer.
They have since hung up their crampons
Started at right-back in 2016, Bacary Sagna subsequently had a short break at Benevento (2017), then at CF Montréal (2018), in Canada. It was in 2019 that he finally called time on football, before starting a career change as an investor. The former Gunners had notably made appearances on the show Capital. His understudy at the time, Christophe Jallet, also hung up his crampons in 2020 after a stint in Amiens. Today, the “Divine Bald” works as a consultant at Canal+. He did not participate in the program Capitalbut rather to Who wants to be my partner?. After hanging up at Inter Miami in 2022, Blaise Matuidi, like Sagna, put on the costume of an entrepreneur. The 2018 world champion has also created Originsan investment fund based in the United States, which invests in consumer start-ups.
Among young retirees, we can also think of Laurent Koscielny. The former Arsenal captain did not resist the collapse of Bordeaux, becoming undesirable at the club in 2022. Pointed out for his lack of investment, he terminated his contract, announced his retirement, then joined the organization chart from the club to the scapular. Last summer, at the age of 38, he joined Lorient where he has since served as assistant coach of the national U17s. Dean of the 2016 team, Patrice Evra stopped two years later after an express stint at West Ham (5 matches). In January 2023, the four-time Champions League finalist became a consultant for Prime Video Italy.
Substitute in 2016, Yohan Cabaye ended his career at Saint-Étienne in 2020, after a season truncated by COVID. He is today sports coordinator of the PSG Training Center, and has notably contributed to the emergence of young talents at the club such as a certain… Warren Zaire-Emery. Initially summoned, but ultimately withdrawn, Lassana Diarra And Jérémy Mathieu respectively ended their careers in 2019 and 2020. The first now wears the business manager’s jersey, while the second was still playing in Regional 2 a few months ago. Finally, Adil Ramicalled to the rescue to compensate for Varane’s package in 2016, is today a consultant for Téléfoot And Prime Video.
They fell into anonymity
Almost hero of the 2016 final, Moussa Sissoko has been playing in Nantes for two years. A generally disappointing passage despite some nice parentheses. He has not been called up for the Blues since 2021. The situation is even more complicated for Morgan Schneiderlin. Since his departure from Nice in 2023, the former Manchester United player has plunged into total anonymity. He has accumulated fairly ordinary experiences, whether in the Australian club Western Sydney Wanderers (7 matches), the Turkish club Konyaspor (0 matches) and today at AE Kephissia, in Greece (0 matches).
Samuel Umtiti, hero of 2018 in Russia, remains undermined by injuries. If he had managed to get his head right in Lecce last year, the French international no longer displays the sound or the image now. This season, he has only participated in 6 Ligue 1 matches with Lille, who took the gamble of relaunching him last summer. In similar proportions, Paul Pogba saw his career collapse like a house of cards. Since his return to Juventus two years ago, the 2018 world champion has been lost in wandering. Cascading injuries, a dark story of extortion attempts by an organized gang in which he found himself despite himself, and then, this 4-year suspension for doping…
He is still old enough to start again, but he will have to activate the alarm clock. At 28 years old, Anthony Martial will leave Manchester United freely this summer, after 9 seasons at the club. Some good, some less good, but above all an almost blank last season. The native of Massy has not been called up for the Blues since October 2021. Eliaquim Mangala, who became the most expensive defender in history in the summer of 2016, after signing for Manchester City, has also experienced difficult recent seasons. He plays today in Estoril, Portugal, where everything accelerated for him under the colors of Porto. Benoit Costil joined Salernitana last summer. A season marked by relegation to Serie B.
They still have energy to spare
If they no longer play in the French team from now on, Hugo Lloris And Steve Mandanda still have a few seasons ahead of them. The first now plays for Los Angeles FC, where he will be joined by Olivier Giroud this summer, when the second is still, at 39 years old, in the heyday of Stade Rennais. The two goalkeepers had jointly announced their international retirement after the defeat suffered in the World Cup final in 2022 against Argentina. Lucas Digne, not selected for Euro 2024, could have been part of the contingent, but Didier Deschamps preferred Ferland Mendy. However, the ex-Parisian remains a sure bet in his position in the Premier League, where he still plays under the colors of Aston Villa. Dimitri Payetdespite his 37 years, decided to breathe one last breath into his career last summer by signing for Vasco Da Gama, in Brazil, where he is enjoying himself.
After two last seasons weighed down by injuries at Chelsea, N’Golo Kanté got back in the saddle in Al-Ittihad, Saudi Arabia. There, the 2018 world champion and winner of the 2021 Champions League continues and finds continuity. This is precisely what reopened the doors to the French team for Euro 2024, even though he had not tasted the selection for almost two years. Eight years after a sensational European Championship, during which he finished top scorer and best player, Antoine Griezmann remains the X factor of the Blues. Brilliant with Atlético de Madrid, he will obviously be traveling to Germany this summer
This will also be the case for Olivier Giroud (37), who has since become the top scorer in the history of the French team (57 goals), and who will leave AC Milan to join MLS this summer. Aged 19 at the time, Kingsley Coman has since established himself as one of the best wingers in Europe. Uncertain due to an injury contracted with Bayern Munich, the player trained at PSG is still included in Didier Deschamps’ list for the Euro. However, this will not be the case forAndre Pierre Gignacwho continues to break records in spades in Mexico, but who has not been called up since 2016 and his traumatic post.
