(Paderborn) Aurélien Tchouaméni and Adrien Rabiot, still in the convalescence phase, should not start Euro-2024 with the French team, two unavailability with serious consequences which will force Didier Deschamps to build an experimental environment to face the Austria on Monday, with N’Golo Kanté in the role of captain on the return.
If the Blues have been generally spared until now from major physical problems unlike the period preceding the 2022 World Cup, the coach must manage the situation of two of his midfield pillars, far from being 100%. when starting preparation for the European Championship.
Tchouaméni has been affected in his left foot since the beginning of May and was unable to participate in Real Madrid’s 15th Champions League title on June 1 in London. As for Rabiot, he is spared due to muscle fatigue and calf pain.
The two Frenchmen are thus the only outfield players not to have had any playing time during the two friendly matches preceding the arrival in Germany on Wednesday, against Luxembourg (3-0), on June 5 in Metz, and in Canada (0-0), June 9 in Bordeaux.
Deschamps never seemed worried about the evolution of these two significant elements and their recovery even seems imminent. Rabiot should resume collective training on Wednesday while the return of Tchouaméni to the field is also expected shortly.
“Everything is going well, he should return to a collective session around (June) 14th, that’s the plan. He goes through the stages normally,” explained the French technician on Sunday.
But despite this relative good news, the deadline will be very short for them to be able to hold their places on Monday in Düsseldorf against Austria for the Blues’ entry into the Euro, forcing Deschamps to tinker in the middle while waiting for their delivery on total footing. A situation far from ideal since the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, France has successfully relied on the Tchouaméni-Rabiot-Griezmann trio.
By recalling Kanté after two years of absence, the coach hopes to have solved part of the problem. An experienced player, one of the main architects of the world title in 2018, the 33-year-old showed during the two preparation matches that he had lost none of his slaughter despite his golden exile in Saudi Arabia ( Al-Ittihad).
“Kanté is still at the same level, he is a potential starter. He showed that he had the level that he has always had and that he was in full possession of his means,” Deschamps said on Sunday.
His teammates are also amazed, like defender Jonathan Clauss.
“On the pitch, I think there are two of them, one who runs and one who plays football. I am impressed by his volume of play and his intelligence. He is capable of playing two positions at the same time,” the Marseillais recently said.
Kanté assures that he has “good feelings” and feels “capable of playing (his) role at this Euro”.
The question relates rather to who will be responsible for accompanying him in the middle. Youssouf Fofana, much more to his advantage in the France team than Eduardo Camavinga, once again disappointing against Canada, holds the rope. But the experience on the pitch of the Kanté-Fofana pair, which does not exceed 64 minutes, necessarily raises questions.
Added to this lack of automatism is the new positioning of Griezmann, who appeared closer to Kylian Mbappé during the two preparation meetings. Which removes a touch of creativity from the heart of the game and isolates the pair of retrievers.
“At times, Antoine’s high positioning makes him less available in the construction zone. That it can go to the finishing phase, yes, but we must be able to make corrections and adjustments. This will be part of the reflection,” explained Deschamps.
Without Tchouaméni or Rabiot, the recomposition of the midfield against Austria has continued to give the coach headaches.
