Varane, Sakho, Cyprien and the divergent paths of first France call-ups | OneFootball

Every new France head coach tends to freshen his first squad, yet the careers of those debutants have varied wildly. According to L'Équipe, Zinédine Zidane’s opening list features five uncapped players, Guillaume Restes, Jérémy Jacquet, Andy Diouf, Lucas Da Cunha and Estéban Lepaul.

Didier Deschamps’ first selection in August 2012 included Raphaël Varane for a friendly against Uruguay that finished 0-0. He did not debut that night at the Stade Océane, then started his first match on 22 March 2013 against Georgia, a 3-1 win, and added a further 92 caps en route to the 2018 World Cup title.

Blaise Matuidi, another future world champion, emerged under Laurent Blanc in August 2010 during the post-Knysna reset. He missed out in Norway on 11 August 2010, then won his first cap the following month in Bosnia-Herzegovina, a 2-0 victory, beginning a career of 84 caps.

Some newcomers became long-term fixtures without lifting a major trophy. Alou Diarra won 44 caps, only 25 as a starter, and came on in the 2006 World Cup final against Italy, 0-0, 3-5 on penalties.

Éric Abidal reached the 2006 final and finished with 67 caps, 62 starts. Patrice Évra amassed 81 caps, 77 starts, and was an Euro 2016 runner-up, as was Yohan Cabaye with 48 caps and 37 starts. Sidney Govou was picked for Euro 2004 and 2008 and the 2006 and 2010 World Cups.

Mamadou Sakho’s brace in the 3-0 win over Ukraine on 19 November 2013, his only goals for France, stands out among shorter arcs alongside Gaël Givet and Philippe Mexès.

Others barely passed through. Charles N’Zogbia earned two starts, against Norway on 11 August 2010, a 1-2 defeat, and Poland on 9 June 2011, a 1-0 win. Brief spells also marked Bruno Cheyrou, Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, Benoît Trémoulinas, Frédéric Déhu, Étienne Capoue, Pierre-Alain Frau and Tony Vairelles, the latter called before Austria-France on 19 August 1998, a 2-2 draw.

The most fleeting was Jean-Pierre Cyprien, the sole new face in Aimé Jacquet’s first list in February 1994. He played 17 minutes in Naples against Italy, a 1-0 win on 16 February 1994, replacing Christian Karembeu, and was never capped again.

Source: L'Équipe

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