France enters the running for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar next Tuesday, at 8 p.m., against Australia. Didier Deschamps is preparing a particular starting lineup, which will take into account the shapes and forms of his players.
The Team reports that, contrary to what has been mentioned in recent days, Adrien Rabiot should not occupy a hybrid left midfield position, inspired by the role of Blaise Matuidi during the 2018 World Cup. In the 4-2-3-1 that the national coach wants to put in place against the formation from Oceania, the player of Juventus Turin could be established in the double pivot in the middle of the field, with the player of Real Madrid, Aurélien Tchouaméni (22 years old).
In defense, while the Mancunian Raphaël Varane is in the recovery phase, an unprecedented duo could be established in the axis: Ibrahima Konaté-Dayot Upamecano. The first, who plays for a club in Liverpool, has 2 caps, against Austria on June 10, 2022 (1-1 draw) and against Croatia three days later (0-1 defeat). Dayot Upamecano is slightly more experienced (7 caps), but the two players have never played together. The side would be Lucas Hernandez and Benjamin Pavard. Théo Hernandez (AC Milan), William Saliba (Arsenal) or Jules Koundé (Barça) would start on the bench.
Four attackers against Australia?
While it was not the trend, Didier Deschamps could finally field four attacking players against Australia, while Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) does not seem able to start the match, since the Golden Ball is still in recovery phase and trains individually, like Raphaël Varane. Olivier Giroud could have the confidence of the coach at the forefront, with Antoine Griezmann behind him.
In this device, the wings would be occupied by two arrows: Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé. For the Parisian, no surprise as his presence in the starting lineup is expected. For the FC Barcelona winger, it’s already a little more surprising. The 26-year-old has only played 11 minutes with Les Bleus (against Austria on September 22, 2022) since June 2021. Ousmane Dembélé would be preferred over Kingsley Coman.