Laurent Favre
Dusseldorf
Published on June 21, 2024 at 10:38. / Modified on June 21, 2024 at 12:01.
We found it as we had left it. So discreet and at the same time omnipresent. Very small, almost the body of a child (1 m 68) in the middle of the Austrian muscles and yet a giant at the heart of the game. After two years of absence from the French team, two years of struggle and injuries punctuated by a transfer to Saudi Arabia that we imagined had no return, N’Golo Kanté returned to the Blues, at 33, just before the Euro, and it is no exaggeration to say that it is the most impressive international comeback since that of Zinédine Zidane before the 2006 World Cup.
Named man of the match after France-Austria (1-0), which he finished with the captain’s armband following Kylian Mbappé’s injury, N’Golo Kanté impressed all observers with his inexhaustible activity, his robustness in duels and his ability to be everywhere and almost always clean and fair. “France has the best team player in the world,” exclaimed former England player Wayne Rooney. He knows how to do everything: press, position himself and play in the intervals, break up opposing actions and project himself into attack. His energy improves the other players, who dare to move forward because they know that if the ball is lost, N’Golo Kanté will come and recover it. For me, he is one of the best midfielders in the world.
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