At 24, Aurélien Tchouameni had the honor of being named captain of the French team for this October gathering. “Be a captain? It is with great pride that I take on this responsibility. We had a discussion with the coach, he informed me of this decision, I am happy, and obviously, it is a source of pride“, declared the Real Madrid player, very happy. A choice which had nevertheless caused discussion, at a time when some were more likely to imagine Mike Maignan taking the armband.
“I chose Aurélien because I consider that he has the profile to assume this responsibility, because of his experience, because of what he is – that should not change the player that he is – but it is a another step for him», Didier Deschamps then justified himself before the match against Israel, leaving the door open to other possible captains for the clash against Belgium… before leaving the armband to his midfielder. And yesterday, the Merengue was not the exemplary captain expected for this type of meeting, more intense than a duel against Israel.
A leader who no longer progresses
“Under fire from criticism since the start of the season, the Real Madrid midfielder was bad this evening. In the first half, he was not brilliant and had a complicated game. Really little influence in the progression of the ball, he was not sharp enough to recover more balls. Captain of the evening in the absence of Kylian Mbappé, Tchouameni missed his interim and even suffered the worst by being sent off in the 76th minute following a second yellow card. A match to quickly forget for the Madrilenian», wrote our editorial staff who gave it a score of 4/10 yesterday. For his part, The Parisian even speaks of “shipwreck“.
Far too neutral in the midfield, often content to only make lateral or backward passes, the Madrilenian did not carry weight during the long period of Belgian domination. He made more mistakes before being sent off in the second period (76th), thus becoming the first captain of the Blues to see red since the expulsion of Zinedine Zidane during the 2006 World Cup final against Italy. Designated as one of the leaders of the France group, Aurélien Tchouameni in any case confirms the difficulties he has encountered for several months, notably at Real Madrid or at the Euro with the Blues. Recruited in 2022 for €80 million, the former Monegasque was supposed to take on another dimension. But for some time now, he has stopped making progress. Worse, he becomes above all too neutral a player. Both with the Merengues and with the national team.
