Is this Arsenal star among France’s 3 key men for Euro 2016?

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France are pre-tournament favourites for Euro 2016, which is not too surprising considering their successes on home soil in the 1998 World Cup and 1984 European Championships. They also possess a squad that has incredible reserves of athleticism and quality.

As ever with Les Bleus though, off-the-field hiatuses threaten to upset the apple cart, this time with Karim Benzema’s alleged blackmailing of Mathieu Valbuena. As hiatuses go, blackmailing a teammate with a sex-tape is pretty spectacular; it’s a definite step up from Samir Nasri sitting in Thierry Henry’s seat on the team coach.  Nevertheless, France’s pool of talent is a source of envy across the continent, and we ran the rule over three players who could prove key to their tournament chances.

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Laurent Koscielny 

Feted by Arsenal supporters, Koscielny hasn’t always felt the same warmth of admiration from a notoriously judgmental footballing public in his homeland. Didier Deschamps started the World Cup 2014 Mamadou Sakho and Raphael Varane, before an injury, handed Koscienly a start in the knock-out stages. Koscienly has only started 25 games for France since his debut five years ago, evidence he has struggled to make himself as integral at international level as he is at the Emirates.

With Varane ruled out of the finals with injury, though, Koscielny has a chance to take the reins and establish himself as France’s dominant centre back. Fast, agile and extremely good in one on one situations, he is the type of defender who is valuable in an offensive team like France who will leave their centre-halves exposed, and trust them to defend high up the pitch. Doubts remain over whether his is comfortable as the most senior player in a centre-back partnership, as he may have to be alongside Eliaquim Mangala. Koscienly is not the most vocal, and his game is based around taking calculating risks. France need a big tournament from him; although given their talent they possess further up the pitch they may not have to be flawless defensively.

Blaise Matuidi

Absent in spring due to injury, it was astonishing to see how sorely PSG missed Matuidi in their Champions League Quarter-Final against Manchester City. He started nine of France’s 10 matches in qualification and is likely to be as integral in this summer’s finals.

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Somewhat overshadowed by the supreme talent of Paul Pogba, Matuidi is an important cog in Deschamp’s 4-3-3 system. The two midfielders on the outside of this narrow three must have fantastic engines in order to plug gaps in wide areas and support a lone striker. Matuidi, who has earned the nickname ‘Marathon Man’ in France, has stamina in abundance and has the ideal profile to fit into this system. He also gives France what the more pretentious of ourselves like to call ‘verticality’, with his bursts forward in the left channel stretching opposition defences and pulling them out of shape. It is surprising that no Premier League club has attempted to prise Matuidi away from Paris.

Antoine Griezmann

Though Olivier Giroud may don the No.9 shirt in the absence of Benzema, Griezmann is the jewel in France’s attacking crown. Dismissed in France as a youngster for being too small, he has forged a career in Spain first at Real Sociedad and most recently at Atletico Madrid. Griezmann has scored 44 La Liga goals in the last two seasons, but what is noticeable is his desire to serve the needs of the team.

Nothing about Griezmann is meretricious or selfish, and he can be employed in any of the roles across a front three. If France do indeed start with Giroud through the middle, then it is imperative that they have mobility on the flanks to run beyond him. Griezmann, like Anthony Martial and Kingsley Coman, provides abundant speed and also has the technique to make the most of his pace. Griezmann missed France’s friendly against Cameroon in order to recover from the Champions League final, and Deschamps will hope he can regain some physical freshness after a demanding season in which he started 51 games in all competitions.

Featured Image – All Rights Reserved by Stuart MacFarlane