FEATURE | Three things we learn as France’s B team impresses against Colombia | OneFootball

France’s B team made little work of Colombia’s A team courtesy of Marcus Thuram and a brace from Désiré Doué. 

France’s depth on show

As Thursday’s game against Brazil was used to fine-tune France’s current best XI, Didier Deschamps made no mystery of his intentions to use tonight’s encounter against Colombia to flex Les Bleus depth, and thus offering some of the players who are not yet certain to board the plane the chance to step up.

Deschamps will have some headaches to solve, and hearts to break, given the remarkable collective and individual performances he saw at Landover’s Northwest Stadium. Warren Zaïre-Emery, Maghnes Akliouche and Marcus Thuram have all seized their chances whereas Maxence Lacroix has certainly more than filled William Saliba’s absence. Meanwhile, Pierre Kalulu and Randal Kolo Muani may not have done enough to change Deschamps’ mind in the absences of Jules Koundé and Bradley Barcola.

Rayan Cherki proving invaluable

The Manchester City attacking midfielder was unsurprisingly given the nod to fill in for Michael Olise in France’s No. 10 role. The Lyon Academy graduate was an absolute joy to watch, linking up play with ease. Cherki also succeeded at evading Colombia’s press with his pace and his hypnotic touches.

Involved in both Désiré Doué goals, Cherki was logically singled out by Colombian players who more often than not fouled him. One of them even struck him in the face. That’s how insufferable Cherki is for opponents, and how invaluable he became for France, despite being part of the squad for less than a year.

The old breed steps up

On his 35th birthday, N’Golo Kanté was tasked to anchor France’s midfield alongside PSG’s Warren Zaïre-Emery. The Fenerbahçe midfielder midfielder delivered a trademark dominant display, recovering an almighty amount of balls and setting up the press pace. The fact he is considered a squad option speaks volumes about France’s ridiculous depth.

Speaking of squad options in the second half of their career, PSG’s Lucas Hernandez deserves a shout-out. Despite limited game time with Luis Enrique’s Les Parisiens, the older of the Hernandez brothers offers freshness, physicality, versatility and experience in spades. After missing out on the 2022 World Cup in tearing his ACL for France’s opening game against Australia, Lucas Hernandez will surely have the opportunity to double his World champions medals come summer.

GFFN | Bastien Cheval