World Cup winner Steven Nzonzi to visit France base in Qatar | OneFootball

In an interview with Le Parisien, French midfielder Steven Nzonzi, who was part of the France squad that won the World Cup four years ago, has said that he would visit the team in Qatar, where he has been playing since last year.

The Al-Rayyan man points out that his club’s training ground is close to that of Les Bleus, and that he would go to one of their training sessions but stay “in my corner, without making any noise [smiles]”.

The former Sevilla and Roma man, who has earned 20 caps for France between 2017 and 2020, also shrugged off questions regarding controversies around the Gulf state – its oppressive laws against LGBT+ people and mistreatment of migrant workers, for instance. He says that around him in the country, he only sees people “who want to do the most for this World Cup to go as well as possible. I’m not here to talk about politics. I’m a football player. Nothing is perfect in this world.”

Nzonzi adds that although he has somewhat lost contact with the France national team staff, he still keeps in touch with certain players – even if none of the midfielder from the 2018 squad are present this time round. He nevertheless says that he is confident that Les Bleus will have a good tournament, and that the new, younger players in the squad are “not a handicap”.