It’s a campaign that’s coming to an end. The French team had set itself the objective of finishing with an 8th victory in 8 matches. They had to settle for a 2-2 draw in Greece against a valiant team, although the absence of Goal Line Technology probably had an impact on the final score. Too bad for the statistics, the important thing is elsewhere with qualification, already assured before this break, and a seeded status validated. After this second match, it is time to take stock and one man has probably scored more points than the others in the person of Youssouf Fofana (24 years old). His clear shot in the 75th allowed the Blues to leave with a draw. His second goal for the French team after the one scored against Gibraltar last Saturday, already with a strike from outside the area.
“I know that Kylian (Mbappé) when he comes in on the right foot, he looks the opposite way. On that occasion, I felt it”analyzes the AS Monaco player at the microphone of TF1 after the game. In 12 selections, this is only the 3rd match that he has played in its entirety, proof that the coach does not hesitate to count on the one who has been able to take advantage of absences to show himself. “We try to keep it simple and play it safe but by spending time with the 22 other players, I relaxinsists the one who collected a nice 7/10 in our columns. And then there was this competition for a month too (the World Cup in Qatar a year ago) to give me confidence. I just had to be given a chance.” A great performance which comes at the right time because he knows it, places in the midfield are very expensive and he will have to have a very good second half of the season to get a trip to Germany.
The absent are always wrong
“The goal was to show that I can be in this list (of the 23 for the Euro). I came often but I didn’t have the opportunity to prove it. Now it’s done. I hope to score points this time for the 23. The primary objective was to replace Aurélien (Tchouaméni), Cama (Eduardo Camavinga), and Warren (Zaire-Emery) and to keep this requirement that we have in the middle. He himself admits, the absentees benefited him during this gathering. However, he had seen the young Parisian pass him by after Camavinga’s injury in training even though he had never before tasted the French team. But Zaire-Emery’s injury after 20 minutes of play against Gibraltar allowed him to gain playing time. The World Cup had already been profitable for him with the withdrawals of Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kanté.
However, nothing is decided according to Didier Deschamps. When Fofana’s performance was noticed at a press conference, the coach preferred to procrastinate. “They (the players) all have an interest in scoring (points, editor’s note) even if there are absentees. There is very strong competition. When they have playing time, when they are all available, I won’t be able to take them all. Already, Youssouf, in the first match when he replaced Warren, and this evening with his goal he showed good things. It goes that way. It is also important, beyond ensuring our qualification and the status of top seed, and in March too, it allows us to strengthen certain players even if it will be a repetition because the situation can evolve. If it is not yet won for Fofana, he is putting all the chances on his side.
