When it comes to strength in depth on the international stage, you’d be hard pressed to find better than England’s neighbours across the channel. Much has made of the plethora of young talent in the France ranks and for good reason. While Les Bleus flattered to deceive in their 3-1 win over Luxembourg on Saturday night, their potential is immense. Indeed, no fewer than six youngsters could make their international bow for France in the meeting with Spain on Tuesday night, while Monaco pair Benjamin Mendy and Kylian Mbappe both earned their first senior cap in the aforementioned victory.
Factor in that 14 of the current senior side are aged 25 and under, six of whom have ample international experience under their belt, and the future is certainly bright for France. Tuesday’s welcome of Spain can be expected to provide a baptism of fire for those young players yet to feature for France, but the quality is there to make an impact against the three-time European champions. Head coach Didier Deschamps is able to call on a raft of youthful stars more than capable of hurting Spain at the Stade de France.
Ousmane Dembele won just his fourth senior cap of his career against Luxembourg at the weekend, with the youngster more than deserving international recognition considering his fine form for Borussia Dortmund this term. He has a better WhoScored rating (7.44) than any other teenager in Europe’s top five leagues this season. Mbappe, meanwhile, has scored six more goals (12) than any other teenage footballer on the continent, with Dembele (6) his closest competitor.
It isn’t just in attack either where France have sufficient resources throughout the national pool. Adrien Rabiot, Thomas Lemar, Correntin Tolisso and Tiemoue Bakayoko are all options in the middle of the park, though the latter was only called into the squad through injury to Paul Pogba, while Presnal Kimpembe, Samuel Umtiti, Mendy and Aymeric Laporte are all top quality defenders, though like Bakayoko, Laporte was only called up to the squad following injury. Even with the recent call ups, Deschamps is able to use Anthony Martial, Nabil Fekir and Kingsley Coman, to name three, while Moussa Dembele, Wylan Cyprien and Morgan Sanson are recent U21 internationals.
It’s merely the tip of the iceberg as far as France are concerned, with the wealth of young talent on offer as mind boggling as it is startling. Deschamps must be rubbing his hands with glee at the prospect of delving into the national pool, safe in the knowledge he will come back with a prodigious talent to help France return to the summit of world football. That isn’t to say Spain will be mere pushovers, however, when they make the trip to France.
Under Julen Lopetegui, Spain are unbeaten in seven and have scored 23 goals in that time. A 4-1 win over Israel is not to be taken lightly and they too have a similarly deep talent pool with which to maximise their talent. They have the upper hand against France too having won three of the last five meetings between the two sides, though it’s feasible to suggest that the youngsters at Deschamps disposal are in a much better position to stake a claim for their place in the national team than Lopetegui.
Including goalkeepers, only five of Spain’s current 25-man squad are under 25, which is a sizeable difference from the 13 of France’s 24-man team coming into Tuesday’s fixture. While it’s unlikely that the likes of Mbappe, Bakayoko and Tolisso will feature from the off against Spain, they are still useful options for Deschamps considering their ample playing time for Monaco and Lyon, respectively, this season.
Either way, France has every right to be excited at what the future has in store on the playing field. An underwhelming display against Luxembourg may not have appealed to supporters, but a strong showing against Spain, particularly if the young performers play a key role, will certainly have fans looking to the future pondering what might be as Russia 2018 edges ever closer.
