Thierry Henry was thinking about making some changes to his starting eleven for the French Olympic team’s second match at the Paris 2024 football tournament, against Guinea, on Saturday in Nice, just three days after an opening victory against the United States (3-0) at the Vélodrome. Jean-Philippe Mateta, who could have given way to Arnaud Kalimuendo after a disappointing performance against Team USA, was lined up from the start, alongside Alexandre Lacazette in the attacking duo.
Mateta was finally replaced by Kalimuendo in the 58th minute of the game. And this was quite logical. The Crystal Palace striker, who was not very successful in the game, missed a huge opportunity when he came up against the Syli National goalkeeper, Jean-Philippe Mateta (34th). Michael Olise had perfectly launched the centre forward trained in Drancy and Châteauroux (he is a native of Sevran, in Seine-Saint-Denis). Negative and even mocking comments flew at X, with the (rare) followers of the game recalling the clumsiness of Marcus Thuram and Randal Kolo Muani, who were clumsy during Euro 2024 in Germany with the France A team.
Thierry Henry will rotate
Jean-Philippe Mateta, 1.92 m, has a pivot profile that is more suited to the more mobile Alexandre Lacazette, and can serve as a support point for the other French players. The 27-year-old player (who is one of three older players with “Laca” and Loïc Badé, 24) is coming off a great season at Crystal Palace, with 16 goals scored in the Premier League (his hat-trick on the last day of the championship boosted his stats). And he scored twice in the first warm-up match against Paraguay. Disappointing since then, he could lose his place in the eleven.
After this second victory in Group A of the men’s football tournament, thanks to a header from right-back Kiliann Sildillia in the 75th minute, the French team has qualified for the quarter-finals and Thierry Henry could, this time, really shake up his squad by sparing a good part of his starters, in three days against New Zealand, again in Marseille. A good performance from Kalimuendo and “Titi’s” plans could change for the rest of the competition.
