5 Young French Stars Who Keep Dreams In Qatar 2022 World Cup
JAKARTA - The Qatar 2022 World Cup will take place from November 21 to December 18. Christopher Nkunku and Aurelien Tchouameni had high hopes of being there with France. Matteo Guendouzi, William Saliba and Ibrahima Konate also entertained the dream of a trip to Qatar with Les Bleus.
Didier Deschamps' 23-man squad for the 2022 World Cup is slowly but surely taking shape. Along with a coach's tactical preferences, other factors can come into play as he compiles his roster, including rich form for some players or even dreaded injuries for others.
Here, we take a look at five rising stars who haven't necessarily made it into the Les Blues squad and travel to Qatar in November. Who are they? Here's the list.
Christopher Nkunku (24)The RB Leipzig player is having the best season of his career having scored 20 goals in 34 Bundesliga games. Given those numbers, it should come as no surprise to see him earn his first France cap in a 2-1 friendly win over Ivory Coast in Marseille on 25 March.
Deschamps was pleased with the youngster's appearance. If he maintains his form, Nkunku has every reason to believe he will travel to Qatar.
Aurelien Tchouameni (22)A mainstay of the Monaco side who finished the Ligue 1 season in cool style, Tchouameni is in the process of securing a place with Les Bleus. A regular squad member since the summer of 2021, where he has won eight caps and made four stars.
Scorer of France's winning goal in the 1-2 loss to Ivory Coast, Tchouameni staked his claim as a substitute for Paul Pogba and N'Golo Kante and could do well and be the undisputed first choice. Now, the midfielder has costumed Real Madrid. what else is missing?
William Saliba (21)The impressive Saliba is one of the reasons why Olympique Marseille are Ligue 1's third team with the best defense. On loan from Arsenal and seemingly indispensable coach Jorge Sampaoli, the defender has made 52 appearances in all competitions this season and received his first call-up from Deschamps in March.
Saliba came on as a substitute against Ivory Coast and then started the 5-0 win over South Africa, demonstrating his physical presence and ability to play the ball off defense on both occasions.
Its flexibility is a major plus point. With fellow rivals Kurt Zouma and Dayot Upamecano risking a less-than-attractive claim this season, Saliba looks well-placed for the Qatar trip.
Ibrahima Konate (22)Making the most of his 1.94m height, the centre-back has impressed with Liverpool, completing his apprenticeship with one of the best teams in the world. With the Reds, the former RB Leipzig man made 29 appearances for the club in all competitions this season and was one of the keys to Jurgen Klopp's side winning the League Cup and FA Cup.
Scorer of three goals in five games since the start of April (one against City and two against Benfica in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals), Konate could feature in Deschamps' June squad.
Matteo Guendouzi (23)The tireless midfielder is enjoying perhaps the best season of his career with Olympique Marseille and has made more appearances than anyone under Sampaoli: 56 of them in all competitions, scoring five goals and providing 14 assists.
Guendouzi has been impressively consistent, maintaining his high standards throughout the season and forcing himself to beat his midfield. No wonder, then, Deschamps called him in March.
In scoring the winner against Ivory Coast and then scoring against South Africa, Guendouzi did nothing wrong. "The World Cup? It's a goal and a dream that I'm working towards," the midfielder said in a recent chat with Telefoot. "There's still a long way to go."
Other young contenders for a place in Qatar 2022's France squad include: Moussa Diaby (22, Bayer Leverkusen), Pierre Kalulu (21, AC Milan), Michael Olise (20, Crystal Palace) and Robin Le Normand (25, Real Sociedad).