why Deschamps called Clauss and Nkunku for the first time
Didier Deschamps has selected two new players in his list of 23 to face Ivory Coast and South Africa in the person of Jonathan Clauss (RC Lens) and Christopher Nkunku (Leipzig). He justified these choices by their performances in their respective clubs and in order to test them before the official deadlines.
The coach of the France team has called on two new players for the friendly matches against the Ivory Coast on March 25 in Marseille and South Africa on March 29 in Lille. Author each of good performances in their club of Lens and Leipzig, this is how Jonathan Clauss and Christopher Nkunku won their place in the group according to Didier Deschamps.
“These are two successful players with their club and who could have been called up before,” explained the former OM coach before specifying that he had also made “the comparison with the competitors in their positions”.
Didier Deschamps also put forward the argument of friendly matches, which convinced him to summon Clauss (29) and Nkunku (24): « It’s time to see them to get a little more answers on the choices decisive ones brought to do for the future deadlines. » The most important deadlines of which the coach speaks are the official meetings to come in June and September in the League of Nations and obviously the World Cup in Qatar in December 2022.
Nkunku in the axis, Clauss will also be judged on his defensive work
He also looked at the selection of the Leipzig player (26 goals and 15 assists this season) explaining that he deserved his place « for the content of his matches and his efficiency, as shown by his very good statistics » . Didier Deschamps also clarified that he would use the former PSG player « in the position in which he plays in Leipzig, in the axis, almost as a second striker with a lot of freedom and being closer to the goal ».
On the subject of Jonathan Clauss (four goals and nine assists this season), who took the place of Léo Dubois, Deschamps recalled that the position of full-back should not be judged solely « on his offensive contribution if it is at detriment to defensive work ».
