what can novices Clauss, Nkunku and Saliba bring to the France team?

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After the emotion of the first convocation, place in the field. Since the start of the week, Jonathan Clauss has been discovering Clairefontaine, stars in his eyes. The Lensois, selected for the first time by Didier Deschamps last Thursday, will take his first steps at international level and offer the coach new options on the right side of the defense. Already selected for the Espoirs, Christopher Nkunku and William Saliba have their marks at Clairefontaine, but have just as much to prove and bring to the France team from Friday March 25 against Côte d’Ivoire.

Jonathan Clauss, the “centering machine”

He had been waiting for this for months. At 29, after having hatched late with RC Lens, Jonathan Clauss knew that his performances in Ligue 1 allowed him to claim a place in the France team. It is now done, and Didier Deschamps intends to rely on him. “I’m not here to give gifts. If he’s there, it’s because I think he deserves it. The story is beautiful, he arrived late at the very top level. It’s not his jubilee, he shouldn’t see it as an end but as a stage“, explained the coach Monday to Clairefontaine.

It must be said that Clauss has a lot to play for in these two friendlies against Côte d’Ivoire and South Africa. Since the meeting against Finland in September in Lyon (2-0), Deschamps has decided to install his team in a 3-5-2, with three central defenders. A system that requires powerful pistons, both defensively and offensively. And this type of profile is rare.

“Clauss is one of the only real post specialists in France on the right side“, assures our consultant Éric Roy. In the spirit of Deschamps, Benjamin Pavard is now a central defender. The coach, who preferred Clauss to Léo Dubois for this rally, will therefore rely on the Lensois and Kingsley Coman to occupy the position of right piston Excellent against Kazakhstan (8-0) in November, Coman had finished the match in Finland (0-2) in this position.

But the Bayern Munich winger does not necessarily have the science of defensive positioning of Clauss. “Clauss is between the profile of Léo Dubois, who is more defensive, and that of Coman, who is much more offensive“, underlines Roy. Above all, the Lensois, author of nine assists this season, is “a centering machine“, according to our consultant. Enough to make him a good alternative to Coman, if he manages to adapt to the international level. Not an easy task for someone who has never played a match in European competition.

Nkunku, to score and get scored

This season, Christopher Nkunku is walking on water with RB Leipzig. Author of 26 goals and 15 assists with the German club in all competitions, the player trained at Paris Saint-Germain has scored as much as Kylian Mbappé (26 goals, 17 assists). Far from being trivial for a player trained as a midfielder and who flourished, at 24, in a second striker role. Also able to play on the sides, “he will be able to bring his versatility to the France team“, assures Eric Roy.

Deschamps, however, claimed that he would use Nkunku like in Leipzig, as a striker. In the absence of Karim Benzema, with the still fragile status of Moussa Diaby with the Blues and the very lackluster performance of Wissam Ben Yedder in the France team, Nkunku could have playing time and score points alongside Kylian Mbappé, Antoine Griezmann and Olivier Giroud in attack.

It will still be necessary to be as effective as in Leipzig, for which Deschamps selected him. “He has evolved in terms of position and use on the pitch to achieve very good efficiency, whether on the goals he scores or the goals he scores. He maintains a very high level of performance, already since last season“, explained the coach on Monday.

“He gon’ bring that confidence that he got, ’cause he’s flyin’ right now“, emphasizes Roy, who continues: “He has pep, speed, that youthful carelessness that can be refreshing.“. Selected among the Espoirs, Nkunku will have no difficulty integrating into the group of the Blues, he who has already rubbed shoulders with certain players at PSG (Mbappé, Kimpembe, Coman, Rabiot, Aréola, Maignan).

Saliba, power and speed

William Saliba certainly did not expect to find Marseille anytime soon. Summoned to the Espoirs, of which he was the captain in recent months, the Marseille defender had to go to Calais to face the Faroe Islands. But it is with the A that he will end his month of March, replacing Benjamin Pavard at short notice. A nice surprise for the player and an astonishing choice from Deschamps, who preferred to test Saliba rather than recall Dayot Upamecano or Kurt Zouma.

“We’ve been following him for a while. He knows the system of play well. He has a good heading game and exudes a lot of serenity and tranquility, even if there are sometimes a few small excesses in throw-in situations with the ball“, explained Deschamps on Monday at Clairefontaine. In the three-defender system, with Raphaël Varane, Lucas Hernandez, Jules Koundé and Presnel Kimpembe as first choices, Saliba can hope to play a few minutes against Ivory Coast or South Africa.

The opportunity for him to show “this speed and this power which are its strength“, emphasizes Eric Roy. “He is able to resist players who are very fast, like Mbappé“, continues our consultant. Saliba’s characteristics impressed at the start of the season for Marseille, when he was loaned by Arsenal where he never had a chance. The OM defender is going through a more delicate period in recent weeks, but not enough to mortgage his chances of playing with the Blues.It remains to seize the hand extended by Deschamps in the next two games.


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