2023-05-06 18:17:58
In his misfortune, France Under-20 coach Landry Chauvin will have at least one person to turn to for some support and advice. While he must announce his list in five days for the World Cup to be played in Argentina (May 20-June 11), the French technician finds himself in the same situation as Sylvain Ripoll when approaching the Tokyo Olympics : most of the players he usually takes with him will not be released by their clubs, who wish to keep them for the final deadlines of the season.
This frustrating situation, underlined by L’Équipe this Saturday, May 6, reaches significant proportions with the workforce of the Bleuets. According to our information, while he must announce his list this Wednesday, May 10, the coach currently has only half a list at his disposal.
Some clubs will play the game
Many players who play in Ligue 1 or Ligue 2, in Auxerre (Isaak Touré, Matthis Abline), Strasbourg (Ismaël Doukouré), Rennes (Désiré Doué, Lesley Ugochukwu), Monaco (Eliesse Ben Seghir) or Bordeaux (Junior Mwanga) are already sure, or almost, of staying in a club. Ditto for elements who evolve abroad such as Mohamed-Ali Cho (Real Sociedad), Lucas Gourna-Douath (RB Salzburg) or the former Rennais Mathys Tel (Bayern Munich), who should make the end of the season in Bavaria according to our information.
Others are on waivers. The two Sunderland players Abdoullah Ba and Édouard Michut will see their future decided by the presence, or not, of the Black Cats in the Championship playoffs. Currently 7th in English D2, the club is playing its final league match on Monday and must grab 6th place, from which it is 2 points away, to qualify. In case of failure, the two boys will be able to go to Argentina.
Wilson Odobert (Troyes) is still waiting to know if he will be released by Troyes, he who is having a good season with ESTAC, whose descent into Ligue 2 is almost complete. Perhaps he will accompany his friend Tanguy Zoukrou. Reims, for Cheick Keita, and Dijon, for Loum Tchaouna, should also play the game and make their players available to the selection.
The dates of the competition raise questions
“If we take the positive side, it shows that we have high quality players who have already made their place as a pro, relativized the national technical director, Hubert Fournier, in the columns of L’Équipe. Afterwards, we are convinced that these absences will allow other quality players to emerge. What really questions us is this choice of date by Fifa. We are prisoners of this. And it’s a shame because it devalues the tournament. »
A sad symbol: the holding of this competition marks, for France, the 10th anniversary of the coronation of the U20s of the 1993-1994 generation, led by Areola, Zouma, Digne, Pogba, Veretout and even Thauvin. With such a reduced workforce, it is difficult to hope, barring an exploit, for a similar fate to their juniors.
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