Paul Pogba’s agent and lawyer, Rafaela Pimenta, confirmed the news on Tuesday. La Pioche will not participate in the next edition of the World Cup which will take place in Qatar from November 20 to December 18. As a reminder, the Frenchman suffered a meniscus injury last July and he initially chose not to have surgery to keep all his chances of participating in the World Cup, before retracting and going through the box. surgery at the beginning of September. While the Turinese had just resumed training with Juventus, the announcement of his package is a real blow for all observers of the France team.
In Italy, several media, including the Gazzetta dello Sport, estimate in particular his return in 2023 only. Very bad news for the Blues and their coach, Didier Deschamps. The 29-year-old adds to the long list of injured who will not be able to travel to the Emirate of the Arabian Peninsula. His absence, combined with that of Ngolo Kanté, leaves the midfield of the Blues in the unknown. The two 2018 World Champions, who are pillars of the France team, will have to leave their place. We therefore looked at the potential replacements who could take over from Paul Pogba with the Blues at the next World Cup.
Didier Deschamps could draw on the side of Real Madrid
The first players who could claim the place of Paul Pogba in the midfield of the France team are none other than the new recruits of Real Madrid in midfield, Eduardo Camavinga and Aurélien Tchouaméni. For the first named, despite his young age, the former Rennais is beginning to impose himself with the Merengues. Even if he is not yet an indisputable holder, Carlo Ancelotti trusts him more and more and that could also be the case for Didier Deschamps for the next World Cup. For his part, the former Monegasque has a slightly more defensive profile, but he has also been more often established with Casa Blanca (14 tenures against 7) and he has a little more experience with the Blues (14 selections against 4). The two players could even be established together in the middle to compensate for the absences of Pogba and Kanté, because of their complementarity in the club.
Another name comes up insistently and it is his teammate at Juventus, Adrien Rabiot. The former Parisian is an important part of the team led by Massimiliano Allegri, even if the latter is having one of its worst seasons for a long time. The 27-year-old has scored twice in particular at the start of the season (one in the Champions League against Maccabi Haifa and another in Serie A against Empoli, just ten days ago). A great way to show yourself in the eyes of the coach of the France team a few weeks before the World Cup. Boubacar Kamara is also in a good position, despite his knee injury which handicapped him for several weeks. The Aston Villa player will soon be able to return to competition in England, as announced by first-team coach Aaron Danks.
Tracks also in Ligue 1
In addition to its four players who play abroad, Ligue 1 and Olympique de Marseille in particular can provide replacements for Didier Deschamps. The Phocaeans Mattéo Guendouzi, Jordan Veretout and Valentin Rongier are likely to be able to take over from Paul Pogba with the Blues. The first named is in a strong position compared to his teammates since it is he who makes the best start on the side of Marseille. With three goals and two assists, he made his mark in the Marseille city and is no stranger to the good start to the season for Igor Tudor’s players. His inexperience with the France team (only 6 selections) could however be a brake in the mind of the coach. For his two teammates, the same remarks are in order, except that they are a little below Mattéo Guendouzi in the hierarchy of Olympian midfielders.
Finally, a track leads to AS Monaco and Youssouf Fofana. The 23-year-old is flourishing on the Rock and he is having one of his most successful seasons with the team led by Philippe Clement. Indisputable starter in the Monegasque midfield, the midfielder is having a very interesting season, which allowed him to be called up during the previous gathering of the Blues during which he scored points. However, his lack of experience at the highest level (AS Monaco was eliminated during the Champions League play-offs), but also with the Blues could be a hindrance in the eyes of the coach. The very last track leads to Corentin Tolisso. The Lyonnais is appreciated by the strong man of the Blues while his physical condition does not plead in his favor.
A lack of weight
Despite this, one thing is certain, Didier Deschamps will be spoiled for choice even if the players mentioned above do not have the career or the experience of major events of Paul Pogba. An eloquent statistic allows us to realize this: the midfielder of Juventus has made 91 selections with the Blues, or 28 games more than Adrien Rabiot (29), Aurélien Tchouaméni (14), Mattéo Guendouzi (6) , Jordan Veretout (5) Eduardo Camavinga (4), Boubacar Kamara (3) and Youssouf Fofana (2) together. Another interesting statistic, La Pioche scored twice as many goals (11 against 5) as all of his potential replacements in the France team.
