Benjamin Pavard and Kingsley Coman were called up this Monday by the staff of the France team to replace Wesley Fofana and Ousmane Dembélé, who have missed the Nations League matches against Israel and Italy. A return through the back door for the two players, who had not been called up by Didier Deschamps since the Euro.
125 days. 125 days, since the semi-final lost against Spain at Euro 2024, that Kingsley Coman and Benjamin Pavard had not set foot in the France team. Little or not used by Didier Deschamps in Germany this summer, the Bayern Munich winger and the Inter Milan defender had not heard their names come out of the coach's mouth when the Blues list was announced for the September gathering, nor for the October one. They didn't hear it either last Thursday, in fact, when “DD” communicated the 23 players summoned to prepare for the matches against Israel and Italy. But Ousmane Dembélé and Wesley Fofana having withdrawn due to injuries, Coman and Pavard were recalled this Monday, thus marking their return to Clairefontaine after four months of absence from the selection. A period that both players experienced in their own way.
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Coman preferred silence and made his legs speak
Kingsley Coman had been disappointed and frustrated at playing very little during the Euro (15 minutes against the Netherlands in the group stage), even if the context had also weighed, the striker having become a father during the competition and having had to be absent. The former PSG player, rather taciturn, speaks relatively little about his feelings and did not have a major discussion or clear explanation with “DD” following his non-summons at the start of the school year. .
However, he was aware that his status at Bayern, where he was a regular substitute at the start of the season, did not work in his favor, and that the fact that he almost joined Saudi Arabia could have sowed some doubts. He also “underwent” the reoxygenation desired by Didier Deschamps, who wanted to see Michael Olise and Christopher Nkunku for example.
The Bavarian has, however, found his rhythm and has had a string of good performances in recent weeks, with three goals and an assist over the last four days of the Bundesliga. A return to form which can, perhaps, be explained by the fact that Coman has had more time for himself, without international gatherings, since the start of the season.
Although information may have circulated on this subject, those around him deny the fact that the player is thinking of an imminent international retirement. With 57 selections on the clock, the 28-year-old winger will be the second most capped in this November gathering for the Blues, behind N'Golo Kanté. For the record, he was staying with family in Paris when his phone rang this Monday.
For Pavard, spite and a call of the foot
If Coman's summer adventure with the Blues may have been frustrating, what can we say about that of Benjamin Pavard? Coming out of Didier Deschamps' little papers since the 2022 World Cup, the full-back did not play a single minute during Euro 2024, seeing William Saliba and Dayot Upamecano impose themselves in the hinge, while Jules Koundé installed in the right corridor.
A tournament during which Pavard had great difficulty hiding his bitterness, which did not escape the management of the Blues, always very attentive to the behavior of less used players. What explains his absence since the start of the school year, which is also difficult for the person concerned? Maybe. Each time he was questioned on the subject, Didier Deschamps, however, took care never to close the door to the Interist, presenting him as a more than credible candidate.
For his part, Benjamin Pavard made an obvious appeal to the technician, during an interview given a few days ago to GQ. “Obviously I’m not giving up and I’m continuing to work so that the coach calls on me again,” he said. “It’s really him who passed on winning to me and I still want to win alongside him.”
The problem being that Pavard – he has repeated it many times – prefers to play in the center rather than on the right, and that in the mind of the coach, who ended up granting his request, several players come before the Northerner, like Ibrahima Konaté, William Saliba, Dayot Upamecano or even Wesley Fofana, who is also part of the group's reoxygenation project.
But the Chelsea defender couldn't honor 'DD's' call this time. No more than the Sevillian Loïc Badé, who could have been summoned. Can Benjamin Pavard take advantage of it? Can this gathering be one of rehabilitation for him? In absolute terms, the fullback with 54 selections has several assets to showcase, such as his experience or his versatility. He still needs to have the opportunity to show himself against Israel or Italy.
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