(Football news) Despite being World Champions heading into the 2022 World Cup, France were not the outright favourites due to the many injury troubles in the squad. Paul Pogba, N’Golo Kante, Lucas Hernandez, Karim Benzema, Presnel Kimpembe and Christopher Nkunku were all unavailable due to injuries, which meant that manager Didier Deschamps had to rely on a number of young and inexperienced players to defend their title. This meant that the likes of Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga were given opportunities and invaluable experience while 24 year old Randal Kolo Muani was drafted as Nkunku’s replacement.

While France did not go on to win the tournament, narrowly losing out to Argentina in the final on penalties after a thrilling 3-3 draw, Les Bleus can take solace in the fact that despite the odds, they still made it to the finals of the biggest stage in world football and showed great determination and grit to take Lionel Messi’s Argentina side to extra time and then penalties. Historically, international teams that have dominated for years have had a great crop of young talented players who make the core of their team and this France side is no different.

The likes of Kylian Mbappe (24), Eduardo Camavinga (20), Aurelien Tchouaméni (22), Jules Kounde (24), William Saliba (21), Dayot Upamecano (24), Ibrahima Konate (23), Youssouf Fofana (23), Matteo Guendouzi (23), Ousmane Dembele (25), Marcus Thuram (25) and Randal Kolo Muani (24) will all be a part of the French squad for years to come and Les Bleus have a solid base to build on, especially for the Euro 2024 in Germany and the 2026 World Cup in United States, Canada and Mexico.

While the nature of their defeat to Argentina was cruel, especially considering that they were very close to becoming the first team in 60 years to retain the World Cup trophy, the young stars got invaluable exposure that would not have been possible without the injury problems Deschamps’ team had. The French players came within touching distance of another World Cup trophy and it will undoubtedly make the country’s young stars even more hungry in the upcoming tournaments.

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