Just thought I'd make a thread regarding our U-19 team who are now in Estonia competing for the Euro championship in that category. Squad: Gardiens AREOLA Alphonse | Né le 27/02/1993 à Paris | Paris Saint-Germain FC MILLIERAS Jonathan | Né le 19/05/1993 à Beaumont | La Berrichonne de Châteauroux Défenseurs DIGNE Lucas | Né le 20/07/1993 à Meaux | Lille OSC DI STEFANO Vincent | Né le 04/03/1993 à Voiron | Montpellier HSC FOULQUIER Dimitri | Né le 23/03/1993 à Sarcelles | Stade rennais FC PHOJO Jérôme | Né le 15/04/1993 à Poissy | AS Monaco FC SAMNICK Richard-Quentin | Né le 23/01/1993 à Noisy-le-Grand | Paris-Saint-Germain FC UMTITI Samuel | Né le 14/11/1993 à Yaoundé (Cameroun) | Olympique lyonnais Milieux BA El Hadji | Né le 05/03/1993 à Paris | Havre AC KONDOGBIA Geoffrey | Né le 15/02/1993 à Nemours | RC Lens NGANDO ELESSA Axel | Né le 13/07/1993 à Asnières-sur-Seine | Stade rennais FC POGBA Paul | Né le 15/03/1993 à Lagny-sur-Marne | Manchester United FC VERETOUT Jordan | Né le 01/03/1993 à Ancenis | FC Nantes Attaquants BAHEBECK Jean-Christophe | Né le 01/05/1993 à Saint-Denis | Paris Saint-Germain FC BOSETTI Alexy | Né le 23/04/1993 à Nice | OGC Nice Côte d'Azur MAYI Ulrich Kevin | Né le 14/01/1993 à Lyon | AS Saint-Etienne Loire PLEA Alassane | Né le 10/03/1993 à Lille | Olympique lyonnais VION Thibaut | Né le 11/12/1993 à Mont-Saint-Martin | FC Porto FAQ: Q: Can we actually win this? A: Yes, though we were not able to send our strongest squad (see more on that later). In truth, Spain are much the obvious favorites here, though they are in arguably the tougher of the two groups, though they have the greatest quality. England have a good 93 generation as well and they are in our group. I would say that on paper we are among the top three teams, but behind Spain. Q: Where the **** are Varane, Sanogo, etc.? A: Varane wasn't selected for this team given that he is already surclassé (in English, promoted) to a "higher" team in Espoirs/U-21. Though he would have greatly increased our chances of winning this, the FFF thought it wasn't a good idea to "downgrade" him back to this squad just to bolster it. Kurt Zouma and Yaya Sanogo are currently injured. If not, they would have been very likely big keys to this squad.
Starting lineup against Serbia: AreolaFoulquier Samnick Umtiti DignePogba Veretout KondogbiaPléa Vion Bahebeck Allez Les Bleuets!
Nice 3-0 win, the ref to be fair was a bit harsh though we played very well, especially in the first half. In the second half, we kicked it into a lower gear though nothing to complain about really. Performances: Areola: Had nothing to do though displayed confidence and assured command, in the air on crosses and with his defense. Foulquier: Didn't do anything wrong although the play went more often (and effectively) on the other flank. Samnick: Solid match. Umtiti: Impressive match, a bit better than Samnick but both were very good. Digne: Attacked well, especially in the first half. Pogba: Probably will be voted MOTM and had an easy, effective game where he was, as his nature deems customary, everywhere. Very at ease. Veretout: Had very good passing. Kondogbia: A quite strong performance in the Vieira role. Pléa: Did OK. Vion: Was quick to the rebound to score. Bahebeck: Good running.
http://www.fff.fr/mediatheque/selections/542510_france-serbie-3-0,-les-buts Thibaut VION should be a big player with porto
Same lineup against Croatia: AreolaFoulquier Samnick Umtiti DignePogba Veretout KondogbiaPléa Vion Bahebeck Allez Les Bleuets!
Indeed we did well, obviously there is always room to improve. Though not only did we qualify for the semis, we also qualified for the U-20 World Cup in 2013 (we were semifinalists last time). And who knows, maybe between now and then, we could strengthen the squad we send there, to include the injured (Sanogo, Zouma) and maybe even some Espoirs who were surclassé and may want to join (Varane, Mbaye Niang). Performances: Areola: He did have some more to do in this match, and made some key saves toward the end, so he did well, 2nd clean sheet now in a row. Foulquier: Scored the goal on a, well, cross-shot and was much more active than in the previous match. Samnick: Did nothing wrong. Umtiti: Another very solid match. Digne: A really good match as well. Pogba: Again the most impressive midfielder on the pitch and making good with his box-to-box game, could be MOTM. Veretout: Again good passing and distribution though little discreet at times. Kondogbia: Didn't have to impose his physicality considering the game was not that way as much as the Serbia game, didn't do anything wrong. Pléa: Again, among the more disappointing on the pitch. Did have some chances though. Vion: Threatened though no goal like in the last one. Bahebeck: Digne overlapped a lot so arguably wasn't as effective as in the previous one, though he would remain a threat considering his willingness to take on opponents.
Oops, well, I forgot to cover the England-France game where we played our second team, though we went up against the Spanish today and it was an exciting match. To be honest, Spain likely deserved to advance but we were more than up to the challenge. In the end, we lost on penalties though mentally the team showed a lot of heart, battling back twice with only minutes to go to equalize 2-2 and 3-3, and though Spain made more chances, Areola had a great match. (One day it isn't so unlikely to think he could trouble Lloris.) I'll have some more regarding the performances though and all that, but we have nothing really to be ashamed of with this team, since the start of qualifications they've done well and they will compete well come the U-20 World Cup in a year's time.
Hey there, sorry I'm late in responding to this. Overall yeah they both had decent tournaments, Pogba I believe could one day start at Juve (and that is saying something considering Vidal and Marchisio are there, and yeah, if he reaches that level I think that is great - but to be honest, I don't think he'll be as good as Vidal, who's become a player that I admire). Kondogbia I think is solid but he needs to become more well-rounded to achieve "Juve starter" quality IMO. Of course in either case I don't expect it to happen that soon, but I'd bet more on Pogba, he's got the higher ceiling (probably the highest in the U-19 team with the exception of Areola).