Keys to France in the Euro Cup: Deschamps’ team, the number one favorite

France goes to most major tournaments as one of the favorites, and their recent successes are largely to blame. Although it will be the first tournament in a long time of Les Bleus Without Raphaël Varane and Hugo Lloris, who have together supported Didier Deschamps’ success, there is also a lot of continuity in this team; The midfield and attack will probably be a carbon copy of the 2022 World Cup team that reached the final in Qatar. With the surprising return of N’Golo Kanté, who now plays in Saudi Arabia, this is a France with a very familiar feel and a perfect mix of youth and experience.

Les Bleus They surpassed their qualifying group with solvency, winning all their games except the last one, against Greece, in which they fielded an experimental team. With only three goals conceded in the entire qualifying phase, two of them in the aforementioned last match, it is clear that France will be difficult to defeat, although doubts arise regarding the individuals that will form Deschamps’ defense.

Since Varane’s retirement from the national team, Deschamps has not been able to decide on his centre-back pairing. The numerous options do not make his decision any easier, while the biggest question mark in the team is the right-back position. Deschamps has publicly complained about the lack of options in this position and has asked the French Football Federation to improve the development of these profiles. Jonathan Clauss has been chosen, unlike in 2022, but a more defensive option in the style of Jules Koundé may be preferred.

The atypically unstable March international break raised some doubts about the current level of Les Bleus, but once they activate tournament mode, they start to overwhelm. Everything suggests that they will have no problem doing it again, and that reaching the semifinals is the minimum that should be demanded of the team.

The selector

There is continuity on the field and also on the bench. Despite speculation about his possible departure after the last World Cup, Didier Deschamps has remained in the position, even extending his contract until 2026. Some called for a new approach, but Deschamps’ philosophy, effective although sometimes unspectacular, was Consider the path to sustained success. Considering that it is a style copied mainly by England coach Gareth Southgate at international level, this approach has merit. Why deviate from the model that France itself created?

The icon

When Kylian Mbappé was given permission to be absent from PSG’s last match in Ligue 1 against Metz, he took the opportunity to attend the Cannes Festival. There he was just one of many stars, but in his own field no one shines as much as Kylian, and even less so in France. Mbappé, PSG’s all-time top scorer and captain of the French national team, arrives at the Euro Cup after a season in which he was Ligue 1’s top scorer for the sixth consecutive year. Mbappé will change his scene in the summer, but first he will try to lead Les Bleus to glory in his first tournament as captain.

Player to follow

With a price tag of 45 million euros, Bradley Barcola was an expensive bet by PSG, who decided on the young winger thanks to his promising second half of the season with Lyon in 2022-23. Described as a “cute little lamb” by one French critic after a series of unconvincing performances, particularly in the Champions League, Barcola has matured as a player. However, the fact that Deschamps did not call him up in March seemed to truncate the dream of the Euro Cup for Barcola, because the coach of Les Bleus He is not used to calling inexperienced players for major international tournaments. That he has deviated from his line by calling up Barcola says a lot about the capabilities of the PSG winger.

The nonconformist

It’s not that Benjamin Pavard had no impact in Qatar 18 months ago, but rather that that impact was not positive. Deschamps said that the Inter defender “was not fit” to play in a match. Les Bleus and, in the words of the French coach, “he was not happy with the situation” in which he found himself, angry with the world on the bench. The cause of his bad mood has not been revealed, but, once he has earned forgiveness, he will seek to have a more positive impact in Germany.

The core

Mike Maignan has taken over from the player with the most caps in France’s history, goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. Lucas Hernández’s injury is a hard blow for Les Bleus, but in his absence there will be Dayot Upamecano, a permanent center back on this team. Antoine Griezmann, who no longer plays so advanced, has never been so important and influential on an international level, as evidenced by his absence in the March friendlies, which ended a streak of 84 consecutive appearances for a national team, a record. Up front, there is no player as influential as Kylian Mbappé, Golden Boot winner at the World Cup in Qatar and who is approaching the level of France’s all-time top scorer, currently in the hands of his teammate Olivier Giroud.

Probable starting eleven

4-3-3 – Mike Maignan – Jules Koundé, Ibrahima Konaté, Dayot Upamecano, Théo Hernández – Antoine Griezmann, Aurélien Tchouaméni, Adrien Rabiot – Ousmane Dembélé, Olivier Giroud, Kylian Mbappé

famous fan

Heads of state have a patriotic obligation to support their national team, but few are as eager as Olympique de Marseille fan Emmanuel Macron. The president seemed to be Mbappé’s shadow in Qatar and has recently been “exerting maximum pressure” for his “so-called future club” to release the former PSG striker for the Olympic Games as well. Get ready to see passionate fan Macron in the stands of German stadiums this summer.

Culinary delight

Sausages are the staple food of those who go to stadiums in France. Many regional varieties are included, among the most famous being Galette Saucisse, a Breton specialty consisting of a grilled sausage wrapped in a crêpe, always associated with the Stade Rennais. Rennes fans recently made an attempt to export this local delicacy outside of La Hexagone by offering them to Milan fans when they attended a Europa League match. Time will tell if it succeeds abroad like other famous French dishes have done.

This article is a collaboration with The Guardian.Luke Entwistl He is a journalist at Get French Football News.

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