Rabiot emerges indispensable for France after Marseille exile at World Cup | OneFootball

Frozen out at Marseille in August, Adrien Rabiot has emerged as a France linchpin at the World Cup. According to L'Équipe, his form and personality have resonated in camp.

He opened with a bust-up with team-mate Jonathan Rowe after a 0-1 defeat at Rennes on 15 August. He was sent to AC Milan on 1 September, and kept performing.

The upheaval still brought a second straight season without European football, compounded by his club missing the next Champions League.

For France, earlier rows included his refusal to be a 2018 World Cup standby. Since then he has been central, at a fourth major finals after the Euros in 2021 and 2024 and the 2022 World Cup.

Didier Deschamps prizes his reliability, tactical intelligence and versatility, and the work rate vital in a 4-2-3-1, and he featured in the 3-0 win over Sweden in the last 32.

Bradley Barcola sees him as omnipresent, an older-brother figure who guides team-mates and urges them to track back.

Rabiot is 31, with only Lucas Digne at 32 and N'Golo Kanté at 35 older in the squad. His 62 caps rank third behind Kylian Mbappé on 102 and Kanté on 69, and his leadership is deliberately understated.

He favours calm and in training has even stepped aside to give a reserve minutes, a habit that made him popular at Marseille. His World Cup could yet deepen the club’s regrets.

Source: L'Équipe