With this week’s France squad signalling the dawn of a new era – many of Didier Deschamps’ regulars over the last ten years, like Hugo Lloris or Raphaël Varane, have retired from the national team – new squad dynamics have been established.
The most notable change surrounds the newly-named captain Kylian Mbappé, who at 24 has risen to his stated aim of being the link between the team’s senior players and the emerging generation.
Le Parisien have analysed the new relationships in the squad, explaining that two members of the latter group in particular form the PSG striker’s inner circle with Les Bleus – namely Marcus Thuram and Eduardo Camavinga. The pair have contributed to keeping the squad in good spiritsm, all the while being part of a cohort that has remained respectful of the team’s more experienced players – Antoine Griezmann, for example, remains a respected figure in the dressing room despite missing out on the armband.
Beyond Mbappé, other affinities have emerged throughout the squad in the last week. Dayot Upamecano and Ibrahima Konaté, formerly teammates as Leipzig, have both risen to the task of being Les Bleus’ new long-term defensive partnership. Kingsley Coman, Adrien Rabiot and Mike Maignan are close from their time together in the PSG academy, while former Bordeaux teammates Jules Koundé and Aurélien Tchouaméni are good friends