This is the first big name that will be missing from Didier Deschamps’ list for the trip to Qatar. The midfielder of the France team N’Golo Kanté is forfeited for the World Cup, Chelsea having announced, Tuesday, October 18, that he had been operated. Hit in the hamstrings, Kanté has not walked the lawns since mid-August and will miss four months of competition, depriving him of the World Cup.
A loss of importance for the coach of the Blues. Present in the France group since 2016, gradually becoming an essential element of the backbone of the tricolor eleven, Kanté will leave a big void with his teammates.
If N’Golo Kanté will miss the French team so much, it is above all because his profile on the ground is unique. Outstanding recuperator, line breaker, the Chelsea midfielder has no equal in the group. “No other player is like him. He is able to do things that others cannot do”says Eric Roy, consultant for France Télévisions.
An injury update on N’Golo Kante.
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) October 18, 2022
A special case that makes his absence even more special, according to the former player and coach. “If Adrien Rabiot was out, I think other players would be able to do what he does on the pitch.he adds. Even if Paul Pogba is injured, other players are able to take his place in the game profile. Kanté’s style of play has carried Les Bleus into their last major successes. The proof, since his first selection in March 2016, he has only had five defeats with the France team. “At his peak he is brilliant on the pitch, he is almost irreplaceable”believes Eric Roy.
But the little midfielder is also a heavyweight player in the Blues squad and his influence goes beyond the field. “We are dealing with a silent leader”judges the consultant France Télévisions. “A player like that, when you see him evolve on the pitch, the energy and the intensity he exudes, coupled with this humility that characterizes him, he is a good example for the group.”
With him, Didier Deschamps also loses one of his experienced players. In six years, the Chelsea player has been selected 53 times, which places him in the top 10 of the Blues still in activity. Finalist of Euro 2016, among the great artisans of the epic of the world champions in 2018, N’Golo Kanté has not missed any of the great successes of the modern history of the Blues. With an edifying statistic: he has no defeats as a holder in the French jersey in a major tournament (11 wins, 4 draws).
#OTD in 2018 ⌛
lifted the 2018 World Cup
Allow us to bless your timeline with happy Kante content pic.twitter.com/Qclv3D41bo
—GOAL (@goal) July 15, 2021
Didier Deschamps will have to rethink his midfield to erase the absence of the former Caennais, “en especially the defensive animation” explains Eric Roy. “Kante is a breaker of quick transitions from the opponent, he has the talent to be well aligned and to be a cutter of opposing offensive actions, in addition to being very valuable in recovery”. In this context, the young Aurélien Tchouameni (22 years old) will necessarily be expected at the turn. “As N’Golo Kanté played in front of the defence, we can consider that his natural replacement will be Aurélien Tchouaméni, who plays in this role with Real Madrid”says the former player and coach.
In recent months, Didier Deschamps has already learned to do without Kanté, who has only played three games with the Blues since the end of Euro 2021, and who has already missed the last two rallies. But in Qatar, with the challenge of the competition, the situation will necessarily be different. Especially since the presence of his privileged partner in midfield, Paul Pogba, is also the subject of questions, even if the Juventus player resumed training on Tuesday. The France team has never lost when its two midfielders were starters. This time, she will at least have to compose without N’Golo Kanté.