This Friday evening, the French football team welcomes Côte d’Ivoire in a friendly match. This confrontation will be played in Marseille, at the Orange Vélodrome. Two Marseillais were summoned, Mattéo Guendouzi, who is not new to the group, and William Saliba, who honors his first summons. A reward for the great season of the two men at OM.
This Friday evening, at the Orange Vélodrome in Marseille, the France team will meet Côte d’Ivoire in a friendly match. It will be one of the last laps of the band at Didier Deschamps before a Cup in Qatar at the end of the year. For this meeting, DD has decided to select two Marseillais: Mattéo Guendouzi, the midfielder, and William Saliba the defender, replacing Benjamin Pavard who has withdrawn due to Covid.
We know that Olympique de Marseille can kill careers. Conversely, it can also make some of them take off. So, obviously, Mattéo Guendouzi and William Saliba, both on loan (the first with an option to buy already exercised, the second without) by Arsenal are not what we can call players who really reveal themselves. But still.
Regarding the midfielder, he was certainly called up twice at the end of 2019 by Didier Deschamps, but he did not come into play. He signed for Olympique de Marseille in the summer of 2021. After a return with the Espoirs, he was again called up to the Blues in September 2021 for the qualifications for the Cup, then the Nations League before honoring his first cap against Finland, last November. His performances at Olympique de Marseille are not for nothing.
Big first for Saliba
Moreover, the former Gunner mentioned the fact that he had made an excellent choice by joining OM and his entourage also argues that the media coverage of the Marseille club necessarily brings a sharper eye from the French coach. Barely. ” Didier knows it, evolving at OM is difficult, there is a lot of pressure. So inevitably, when a player flourishes and manages to stabilize in high-level performance, it encourages him to select him », Explains a supervisor of the 2018 Champions.
It’s exactly the same for William Saliba. Admittedly, he is not in his best performance phase, he admits it himself and admittedly he is benefiting from Pavard’s package, but his high-flying performances with OM this season, in a boiling context, have played in the spirit of a Deschamps who does not lack solutions for the position of central defender.
” I also believe that it is a manifestation of the power of OM »
On the OM side, of course, we are delighted. ” I believe this is an example, the arrival of new players in the most important selections. When this happens in your country, it is even more reason to be very happy and very proud of the work accomplished. This is also the case for Gerson and the Brazilian selection. I also believe that it is a manifestation of the power of OM as a club and a reward for the visibility of the club and the style of play. “, rejoiced Pablo Longoria with Foot Transfer marketbefore continuing.
” It’s good news to see a player born in 2001 arrive in the France team, always. I’m happy for William and I’m happy to see that the work he does every day is rewarded. He is a boy who seeks to improve every day and who works. It’s the thing that makes me happiest “, Continued the president of OM. No doubt he will be even happier if the defender honors his first cape this Friday evening, in his stadium and the day after his birthday…
