‘I’d even prefer not to go, if…’ – France’s Kingsley Coman makes surprising World Cup admission | OneFootball

Usually, players express a desperation to go to the FIFA World Cup, but that is not the case for Kingsley Coman (29), who told L’Équipe that there is even a condition under which he would prefer not to go to next summer’s tournament.

After N’Golo Kanté, Coman is the latest player to prove that a move to Saudi Arabia does not necessarily put paid to your international career. The winger made the move from Bayern Munich to Al-Nassr over the summer but was selected for the most recent international break, during which France beat Azerbaijan (3-0) and drew against Iceland (2-2).

“I knew that, at international level, I would be less of a priority, but I think that would have been the case if I had stayed at Bayern,” Coman told L’Équipe, who said he is enjoying the increased “stability and tranquillity” of his life in the Gulf State.

It is clear that he is still in Didier Deschamps’ thinking as the 2026 World Cup approaches, however, having been part of the Bleus team that reached the final back in 2022, he is not desperate to go to another.

Coman admits frustration at Euro 2024

“There are two types of World Cup: the first, which is exciting, and the ones after, which you experience differently. I would even prefer not to go to the World Cup to open up a space for a young player if I were just to go and do nothing,” said Coman, who went to the Euros in 2024 but only made one short cameo appearance.

“After the Euros, I was not the happiest, it’s true,” began the Frenchman, who only played 15 minutes (against the Netherlands in the Group Stage) on the way to the final. “I needed to speak with the manager to say how I was feeling. We couldn’t do it in the tournament because there wasn’t enough time. So I kept the problem to myself, but the problem was solved after we talked. He understood what I was thinking, and I understood his point of view.”

The situation in Germany during the Euros of 2024 is clearly a scenario that he is desperate to not repeat.

GFFN| Luke Entwistle