He was one of the surprises on Zinédine Zidane’s last list and we didn’t have to wait long to see him in action. Called up for the first time with the France team, Leny Yoro was initially called up in a medical joker role before seeing his status change due to Ibrahima Konaté’s injury. The Manchester United defender thus took advantage of his compatriot’s package to fully integrate the French group and discover an environment that he only knew through the youth selections. An unexpected promotion for someone who already represented one of the most promising faces of the new French generation.
And Zinédine Zidane did not hesitate to trust him. For this meeting against Belgium at the Stade de France, the coach decided to launch Yoro directly into the deep end by lining him up from the start alongside Maxence Lacroix. A particularly demanding first tenure, facing the Red Devils led in particular by Romelu Lukaku, never easy for a defender to maneuver. In an important match for first place in the group, with a French team which was to confirm its success obtained in Brussels a few days earlier, Yoro was entitled to a real life-size test. Enough to immediately measure its ability to respond at the highest international level.
A service that borders on perfection
And the least we can say is that the former Lille player seized his chance perfectly. For his first with the A, Leny Yoro delivered a performance of great solidity, displaying impressive serenity despite the stakes and the context. The French defender won all of his contested duels, with a spectacular 9 out of 9, including five aerial duels. A statistic particularly revealing of his activity and his authority in the different areas of the field. “I don’t think I could have asked for anything better. A home match with the family against Belgium. It’s a very good match. We were hoping for a clean sheet but hey, we have the victory, we are not going to complain. I had the opportunity to play. I had my first call unfortunately, it was for Ibrahima, it was about his injury. I have to be ready. I think we had a very good gathering. We didn’t have the four victories, but I think there is a lot of good in this gathering“, declared the French Red Devil.
Faced with a Belgian attack capable of putting pressure on the French defense, Yoro never seemed overwhelmed and was constantly present in important interventions. His performance was also very clean in his use of the ball, another aspect particularly expected in a modern defender. Yoro posted 93% successful passes throughout the match, with even 89% success in the final third of the field. Figures which reflect its technical mastery and its ability to participate in construction without taking unnecessary risks. While the Blues had to chase the score for a long time before completely overthrowing Belgium in the last quarter of an hour, the young defender remained solid until the end with the victory in his pocket (4-1). “There are people in this position, when we lost Ibrahima Konaté, we immediately wanted to take Leny. I’m happy for him because he had a great match. He fulfilled his role well. I am happy for all these young players in the French team», Analyzed Zidane. For a first selection, Yoro sent a particularly strong message and confirmed why Zidane had decided to open the doors of the Blues to him, at a time when Ivory Coast still hoped to enlist him with the Elephants.
