The rain, mixed with confetti, continued to fall on July 15, 2018 in Luzhniki, and the sky ended up falling on their heads. Four and a half years after the world title won by the Blues in Russia, among the 23 winners there are more falls than takeoffs, twists of fate than strokes of genius. Today, only 7 members of the epic are still installed with the Blues. The others have hung up their crampons, accumulated stubborn injuries, found themselves mired in legal cases, or are simply on the slippery slope.
Captain at the time, Hugo Lloris had chosen to say stop to the Blues after the disillusionment experienced a year ago against Argentina (3-3, 4-2 tab). Since then, the 36-year-old goalkeeper has seen his status decline at club level, at Tottenham, where he now serves as Guglielmo Vicario’s understudy. Untouchable holders in front of him, Raphaël Varane (30 years old) and Samuel Umtiti (30 years old) are also eating their black bread. The first, absent 174 days since his arrival at Manchester United in 2021, is now condemned to a replacement role in the eyes of Erik ten Hag. The second, despite a nice break in Lecce last season, is still closely followed by his physical problems and has only participated in 186 minutes of play this season in Ligue 1 with LOSC.
Paul Pogba symbol of the decline
So quick to illuminate the meetings of the France team in 2018, Paul Pogba is today plunged into total darkness. And it is not his recent legal cases which should favor his return to the forefront. Victim of threats and extortion attempts in 2022, “the deck” had also tested positive for testosterone on September 11, before seeing a 4-year suspension requested against him by the Italian anti-doping prosecutor. Despite himself, he is a bit of a symbol of the disgrace of this 2018 generation. In other ways, his inseparable partner, N’Golo Kanté, has also gone through areas of turbulence in recent seasons.
At the end of a blank season with Chelsea last year (he missed 38 matches due to a groin injury, then an ischio injury), the French international chose to join Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia, where he is trying to get back on his feet alongside Karim Benzema at Al-Ittihad. How to find the France group? Not sure. Corentin Tolisso, author of a brilliant quarter-final against Uruguay in 2018, and Steven Nzonzi, radiant in the final against Croatia, also sealed their fate in the Blues. The first, far from the performance of his finest hours, is slipping today in an OL in search of reconstruction. The second, a sporadic starter at Konyaspor, is playing for survival in Türkiye.
They said goodbye to the French team
Respective understudies of Benjamin Pavard and Lucas Hernandez in Russia, Djibril Sidibé (31 years old) and Benjamin Mendy (29 years old) saw their blue book conclude quite a while ago. The right-hander, who now plays at AEK Athens, has not been called up by Didier Deschamps since October 2019, while the left-hander, who went to prison and was absent from the field between August 2021 and September 2023 for the affair of alleged rapes and sexual assault (he has since been acquitted), is today trying to relaunch in Lorient, penultimate in Ligue 1. He too had to be content with the role of second, or even third knife at the World Cup. . Florian Thauvin (30 years old), who has not had the slightest selection since a match against Andorra (0-4), in June 2019, during which he scored his first and last goal for the Blues, is struggling to repeat his performances in Marseille for Udinese. Since his arrival in Italy a year ago, the Frenchman has only found the net three times.
Three, like the number of matches played by Thomas Lemar this season in La Liga. Victim of a ruptured Achilles tendon in September against Valencia, the former Monegasque was no longer part of Didier Deschamps’ plans in recent months. If he never really established himself as a full-fledged starter at Atlético de Madrid, the 28-year-old midfielder could well revive given his age, but certainly elsewhere than in the Spanish capital. Also the victim of two major knee injuries since last season, Nabil Fekir (30 years old) is in tough conditions. Despite an aborted transfer to Liverpool in 2018, the Frenchman was able to make a clean slate to string together high-flying seasons with Betis, before finding himself stuck in this negative spiral for months. Returning in December, he finally relapsed and will not play again in 2023. A situation similar to that of Presnel Kimpembe, whose return has been postponed again. Sidelined since February due to a ruptured Achilles tendon like Lemar, the French international was expected back in January. This will not be the case as he is expected to undergo further surgery in the coming weeks. Finally, Adil Rami, Blaise Matuidi and Steve Mandanda have already ended their international careers. If the last one still plays in Rennes despite his 38 years, the other two have left football.
They are survivors
Summer hit and star in the making at the time, Kylian Mbappé finally kept all his promises. Already named captain of the Blues at 24, the Parisian propelled his selection to another World Cup final a year ago, and confirmed that he was indeed made of a particular metal. Without a shadow of a doubt, he will one day become the top scorer in the history of the France team. But in the meantime, he remains 3rd with 46 goals, behind Thierry Henry and Olivier Giroud. The last named, now 37 years old but still performing well with AC Milan, does not seem inclined to let up. He will be traveling to Germany in 6 months, which will surely be his last dance with the Blues.
Same story for Antoine Griezmann, named best player in La Liga 2022-2023 by the daily newspaper A.S. the last days. The Atlético de Madrid striker continues his season on a hungry basis and will remain an essential pawn of Didier Deschamps at the Euro. If they are not guaranteed to benefit from a starting place, they should still be part of the German adventure. Subscribers to the French team since 2018, Lucas Hernandez, Ousmane Dembélé and Benjamin Pavard are performing with PSG and Inter Milan this season (the last has just returned from injury after a promising start). Not the type to shake up the established order, even less a few months before a big deadline, Didier Deschamps will very probably summon them. This will also be the case for the discreet Alphonse Areola (30 years old), satisfied with his role as third goalkeeper in the Blues. Despite already playing a secondary role in 2018, he is surely the only one who has not seen his presence called into question four and a half years later.
