Kanté is again, higher than ever, and France want him badly

PADERBORN, Germany — Within the video games room of France‘s group resort, close to Paderborn, defenders William Saliba and Ibrahima Konaté cannot cease laughing. You may hear their screams of enjoyment echo by way of the corridors. The rationale? They caught teammate N’Golo Kanté dishonest at UNO once more.

On the 2018 World Cup, the quietly spoken Kanté earned one thing of a repute for dishonesty when it got here to enjoying video games of playing cards inside the squad. He might have claimed he was solely “a competitor” again then, however final week when the media requested him if he was any completely different now, his reply was straight: “No, I am the identical. However I do not cheat at playing cards anymore.”

Clearly Kanté nonetheless strays from the principles of playing cards considerably, however what’s sure is that on the soccer pitch it is like nothing has modified.

The final time the 33-year-old performed for Les Blues earlier than the warm-up video games for Euro 2024 was in a 2-1 Nations League defeat to Denmark in June 2022. After that, a nasty hamstring harm noticed him miss the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and 90% of the 2022-23 season with Chelsea. Then his transfer to Saudi Arabian aspect Al Ittihad in the summertime of 2023 pushed him additional out of the highlight and lots of puzzled if we might ever see the all-action midfielder play for his nation once more.

However, whereas he was a shock inclusion within the Euro 2024 squad after 24 months away from worldwide soccer, Kanté is again with a bang and it is one of many biggest tales of the match up to now.

Earlier than travelling to Germany, Kanté beat everybody else within the squad within the bodily assessments. And, as if anybody wanted reminding of his high quality, his performances in coaching shortly received his teammates over.

“I’ve the impression that have been three of him at Clairefontaine!” Marcus Thuram stated earlier than France’s opening recreation. “I’ve by no means seen something prefer it, it is horrible, it is horrible, we will not play anymore, we will not play in coaching anymore. As quickly as we now have him on our group we all know we now have received. However extra critically, N’Golo is unimaginable, and I believe that in a single week he reminded us why he was probably the greatest midfielders on this planet.”

For the primary two matches, in opposition to Austria (1-0) and Netherlands (0-0), Kanté was simply that and received the Man of the Match award on each events. He ran greater than anybody else on the pitch, recovered the ball greater than anybody else, and received extra duels than anybody else. He was in all places.

Within the dressing room after the Austria recreation, teammates Konaté and Youssouf Fofana have been shocked. “It’s a insanity. I’ve by no means seen something like this earlier than,” Konaté stated in a video shared on France’s official social media channels. Fofana added: “Hearken to me once I speak. It isn’t a delusion. I’ve seen it with my very own eyes. I’ve. It is loopy.”

For the third recreation in opposition to Poland, a 1-1 draw that noticed France slip to complete second within the group, head coach Didier Deschamps performed Kanté out of place on the precise aspect of a midfield three and it did not work. However even Deschamps has been amazed by the veteran’s degree up to now — he has a 71.4% deal with accuracy from seven made (essentially the most for France), and is joint-second in ball recoveries (13).

Deschamps can name upon the likes of Eduardo Camavinga (Actual Madrid), Adrien Rabiot (Juventus), Warren Zaïre-Emery (PSG), Aurélien Tchouaméni (Actual Madrid) and Fofana (Monaco) in central midfield, but the coach has used Kanté for 240 minutes on the Euros up to now. Solely 5 gamers have managed extra up to now.

However whereas Saliba revealed on Thursday how Kanté “brings a lot to the group together with his exercise and his calm on the ball,” there’s one other side to his function as an elder statesman: serving to out the younger gamers within the group.

“He’s far more vocal than ever earlier than,” a supply near the France camp informed ESPN. “Earlier than, you by no means used to listen to him, now it’s completely different. He offers recommendation, he talks, he guides, he repositions. He has opened up massively, to the good thing about the group.”

Tchouameni, Fofana and Zaïre-Emery, who all play in his place, have acquired essentially the most directions. That is the place Kanté has modified essentially the most in the previous few years and admitted as a lot himself after the Poland recreation, telling the media: “I understood the significance of transmitting your data once I acquired to Saudi in a younger group. It was good to assist the youthful gamers.”

Throughout Euro 2024, Kanté is but to lose a single match — huge or small — in coaching. However the spherical of 16 is the place issues get severe and, in opposition to Belgium in Düsseldorf on Monday, the midfielder might want to make the distinction by exhibiting his high quality as soon as extra.

In opposition to all odds, Deschamps has discovered nice success by calling again one among his favorite gamers in his 10-year tenure on the helm of France. “N’Golo? I believe he’s nonetheless working!” the coach quipped after the draw with Netherlands.

And if the 33-year-old can lead France to the Euro 2024 remaining on July 14, they’re going to let him cheat at playing cards all he needs.