From his first speech Thursday, May 19, at the headquarters of the French Football Federation, Didier Deschamps immediately defended himself: Boubacar Kamara (22), the new kid on the list of the France team unveiled by the coach, was not selected to pull the rug out from under Senegal, who planned to retain the midfielder of Olympique de Marseille.
“When I have to call a player who has dual nationality, I will never do it to prevent him from having a second choice. From the moment the player has a very clear position, namely the objective of being a French international, there is no discussion to be had“, assured Didier Deschamps after announcing his list of 24 players, thus implicitly recalling that the person concerned gave his agreement.
Kamara is one of the five midfielders with N’Golo Kanté, Aurélien Tchouaméni, Adrien Rabiot and Mattéo Guendouzi. If he were to play against Croatia, Austria or Denmark in the four Nations League matches in June, he could no longer claim to play under the colors of Senegal.
Kamara’s selection is surprising. First because The Team announced in mid-April that the midfielder of Olympique de Marseille had given a “agreement in principle” to Aliou Cissé, the Senegalese coach, to play for the Teranga Lions.
Senegalese by his father, Kamara was also filmed at home during the final of the African Cup of Nations won by Senegal against Egypt, a Teranga Lions jersey on his shoulders. In the video posted on social media, he could be seen jumping for joy at the end of the match.
The joy of Boubacar Kamara #TeamSenegal pic.twitter.com/jeDvPhvTWa
— Instant Foot ⚽️ (@lnstantFoot) February 6, 2022
Kamara has played in all the youth selections for the France team, from U17s to Espoirs. However, he has not played for Sylvain Ripoll’s team since March 2021, when he was selectable until November. The Espoirs coach then highlighted the strong competition in the middle to justify his choice.
Present to replace Pogba, injured for more than a month, the choice of Kamara also surprises from a sporting point of view. The OM midfielder is having a good season with his club, which occupies 3rd place in Ligue 1. But an Eduardo Camavinga, who is preparing to play the Champions League final with Real Madrid and who had experienced his first selection in September 2020, had the advantage of knowing the France team. “He is one of the players who could have been there, like others“, only underlined Deschamps.
Here is the list of Blues called for the next matches with a 1st call for @boubaKamara_4
The calendar of this big gathering
June 03: vs.
June 06: vs.
June 10: vs.
June 13: vs. #ProudToBeBlues pic.twitter.com/ubGPL3Uo8n– French team (@equipedefrance) May 19, 2022
The coach of the Blues has especially highlighted the recent performances of the Marseille midfielder. “He is there because of what he achieves with his club in a very particular register even if it is linked to the absence of other players who are used to being there like Pogba. (…) It could have been later, but I considered that it was the moment“, explained Deschamps.
Kamara had already mentioned his ambition to join the Blues, during an interview with AFP in 2019. “much too soon“, estimated then the one who can play as a central defender and evoked at the time the”very high competition behind Varane and Umtiti“. It is however in the midfield position that Didier Deschamps retained him.
By joining the France team, and perhaps knowing his first selection in a few weeks, Kamara will have settled his future in selection, after having thought of Senegal. He will then have to worry about his future in the club. Under contract until the end of June with OM, Kamara will leave his training club. Several major foreign clubs (notably Atlético de Madrid) are interested in the profile of the neo-Blue midfielder.