who to support Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kanté?

After his victory at the 2018 World Cup, the Blues of Didier Deschamps will try to do better at this Euro since during the last one, in France, they lost in the final with the score of a goal to zero against Portugal of Cristiano Ronaldo. If many elements of the 23 of Russia are present in the group of 26 chosen by the coach.

To begin with, during the coronation, the Tricolores were arranged in 4-2-3-1 with Pogba and Kanté in recovery and Matuidi in the role of left winger, a little hybrid who could complete the midfielder. But, with the two preparation matches against Wales (3-0) and against Bulgaria (3-0), it seems that DD is moving more towards a 4-3-3.

Kanté and Pogba indisputable

Obviously, Pogba is in great shape and Kanté had a huge end to the season with Chelsea, punctuated by a final victory in the Champions League. Both are therefore indestructible. In addition to that the statistics speak for the two men since they have played 27 confrontations. Balance sheet? 0 defeats, 21 wins and 6 small draws.

Facing Gareth Bale’s team, Deschamps played Adrien Rabiot and Corentin Tolisso to help the Mancunien, since Kanté had just found the group following the C1 final. During the game against Bulgaria, Thomas Lemar came into play while the Munich player started, Juventino barely recovered from injury. But we will have to decide.

Tolisso, hard on the man

The presence of the ex-Lyonnais in the group was only a half-surprise. Indeed, he is one of the men frequently taken by Deschamps, but he has not really played much this season because of his injuries. Since November 15, he has suffered four injuries, missed 124 days (including 85 for his last injury) and 24 matches. However, Benjamin Pavard reveals that he has always believed in him: ” Coco is a great pro, a great guy, we are close to Bayern and here. When he had this injury, we were all sad for him. He had a few hardships, he always came back stronger. When I went to see him, he was determined to come back as soon as possible. He did it, with his mental strength. We are very happy that he is here. He performs well in the club and here. It is important, but it remains the choice of the coach. There are a lot of qualities, it’s a puzzle for the coach “.

However, he is the only one of the three “substitutes” to have started the two meetings. His aggressive profile is also this sorely lacking midfield of the France team and this would free Paul Pogba even more from defensive tasks and especially from position N’Golo Kanté a notch higher, in position number 8 , where he excelled with Chelsea. Trying Tolisso as a sentinel is something that runs through Didier Deschamps’ mind.

Favorite rabiot?

Holder in the first match and involved in the first goal of the Blues against Wales, Juventino could not play the second meeting due to injury. However, Didier Deschamps, since he recalled it seems to want at all costs to start the meetings. For a long time, he had not wanted to evolve as a sentinel, in Paris SG in particular, his opinion differs in the France team.

Left-handed, considered to be a sort of box-to-box, he was a bit mocked for his passes too often back and a certain form of carelessness when it comes to defensive replacement. However, it seems the most complete (quality of passing, striking and athletic power) to accompany the two monsters that the Blues have in the middle.

Lemar for more technique

For the announcement of the 26, we had doubts about the presence of Thomas Lemar. Indeed, like Corentin Tolisso, the midfielder of Atlético de Madrid suffered from hamstrings. So we wondered if Deschamps was going to take a risk. He was unable to take part in the match against Wales, even training on the sidelines the day before.

On the other hand, he was well available against Bulgaria and Deschamps incorporated him in the second half in the middle of three. We were more used to seeing him come back as a winger. His footing and percussion qualities are taking their toll, but it’s probably a bit light defensively. Paul Pogba would have to do some defensive tasks, if he was the holder, and Kanté would also be confined to a purely defensive role, as a sentry. Deschamps therefore has a few options to start the match, but also to influence the course of the match. We’re not going to complain …