Today, Didier Deschamps announced his list of 23 players for the World Cup qualifiers versus Bulgaria and the Netherlands. Here it is: Le groupe des 23 Gardiens : Areola, Lloris, Mandanda Défenseurs : Digne, Koscielny, Kurzawa, Laporte, Mathieu, Sagna, Sidibé, Varane Milieux : Cabaye, Kanté, Matuidi, Payet, Pogba, Sissoko Attaquants : Coman, Fekir, Gameiro, Gignac, Griezmann, Martial Not too many surprises, although I thought Deschamps was going to use the next two years to experiment with younger full-backs -- Sagna is back. PS. Pandore, your cries for Laporte seem to have finally been heard. He gets his first ever call up with Les Bleus. It would have been a shame to lose him to Spain.
Mathieu said to Deschamps that he doesn't want to be in the group anymore - he'll be 35 and useless to the next World Cup. With Umtiti, Zouma injured, Mangala has been called up. Strange that he's preferred to Sakho, who was never guilty of anything and gave much more to the Equipe de France. Also, we're targeting a two-years-ahead goal. We need to do that a very experienced team, especially in defense.
I thought it was very strange for Mathieu to drop out after he had been named in the squad. Some media outlets described at it as him having a row with Deschamps. I'm not worried about the defense. When Zouma and Umtiti come back, we will have plenty of depth there. I like our midfielders.
Why wasn't Corchia called up? Is he injured? I can live with Sagna in the team. He is two years younger than Evra and can play that big brother role. Some players need to step up and assume leadership roles.
Good win today! It was nice to see Griezmann and Gameiro combining so well. It seems Sagna tore a thigh muscle and might be out for a while. Hoping for more of the same versus the Netherlands on Monday.
Probably the best game for France by Pogba so far. Griezmann was off I thought. When both of them are firing on all cylinders at the same time, look out!
It was a great goal, although I think I have seen him play better in a France shirt. The Round of 16 match against Nigeria at the last World Cup springs to mind. Did Pogba play well today because he played a freer role compared to other recent sorties?
Thank you. You guys are going through a transitional phase. France was there between 2010-2014. It was hard to watch a previously underachieving country like Spain steal the spotlight all of a sudden. Your latest golden generation of Van Persie, Robben, Huntelaar, and Sneijder is on its last legs. Replacing such talented and experienced players is always tricky. Dutch fans will need to patient. I'm sure in time your national team will make you proud again. One thing is for sure, international football, especially in Europe, is more competitive than 10 years ago. The gap between the elite and the middle class seems to be continually shrinking.
^^^^^ you're absolutely right about that. And the gap between middle-class countries and minnows has shrunk even more. Holland will be back in 10 years or so, but right now we're just going to have to put up with this pathetic, sorry lot
I think he's been trying to adapt to the Pirlo role that DD wants him to play in that formation and he's finally feeling more comfortable. You could tell that the criticisms were starting to get to him and the way he celebrated the goal said volumes. After the goal he had a lot more swagger too and was even beginning to control the game a bit. That pass over the top to Gameiro was the highlight imo.
I don't think it will take that long. I think one of the problems a lot of top footballing powers face from time to time is this unwillingness to phase out an ageing golden generation -- complacency has a way of setting in. France made that mistake with the Zidane generation (1998-2006), Brazil did it with the Ronaldo generation(1998-2006), and Spain did it with the Xavi generation(2008-2014). These brilliant players and their entourage retired, and suddenly the new players who replaced them were deficient in terms of experience and know-how at the highest level. Recapturing former glories almost always involves an extended period of indifferent or below-par performances.