Player Focus: Fierce Competition as Deschamps Decides France’s Midfield Preferences

After the Lord Mayor’s Show, it’s normal to have the comedown. Still, reflecting on Samir Nasri’s sumptuous finish for Manchester City in Sunday’s Capital One Cup final win over Sunderland will leave plenty perplexed at why the former Marseille player is absent from Didier Deschamps’ France squad to play the Netherlands on Wednesday.

Nasri’s World Cup goose is by no means cooked, even if Deschamps admitted being called up (or not) for the “prestige” friendly was “important”. Yet the City man – and to a lesser extent Paris Saint-Germain’s Yohan Cabaye, who has been included in Wednesday’s group despite making just a single Ligue 1 start since returning to the Hexagon from Newcastle – could be forgiven for getting a little twitchy, as he settles in front of the television to see Les Bleus welcome Louis van Gaal’s side to Saint-Denis. 

They are not the only ones. France’s midfielders, with the exception of the irreplaceable Blaise Matuidi and Paul Pogba, know they are in a titanic struggle to make sure they finally take their seat on the flight to Brazil. Newcastle’s Moussa Sissoko is probably also safe on account of his solidity and versatility – he has played 6 different spots for his club this season and posted an average score of 7.06 - but midfield is an area in which they are almost freakishly strong.

Lille’s Rio Mavuba should have been making his case for inclusion in the squad to go to the finals this week, but was forced to pull out with a hamstring problem. It is awful timing for a player who missed a large chunk of last season with a knee injury. Valued for his leadership and affable temperament, Mavuba is also very useful in the defensive midfield role in a team that attacks via its full-backs – which is exactly how Deschamps will aim to use Mathieu Debuchy and Patrice Evra this summer.

When the full-backs push on, Mavuba drops in between the centre-backs, as a de facto third centre-half, in much the same way that Sergio Busquets would for Barcelona or Philipp Lahm does for Bayern Munich. Standing at 172cm, Mavuba is a smart, mobile operator, as we can tell from his average 2.3 tackles and 2.4 interceptions per game. His 85.8% pass completion rate, with most of his use of the ball strictly short-range, shows us how this steady performer likes to keep it simple. 

Mavuba’s place for Wednesday’s squad has gone to Josuha Guilavogui, who made just one start and two substitute appearances (in La Liga and the Champions League combined) at Atlético Madrid after his summer arrival. He has almost matched that already since returning to Saint Etienne on loan at the end of the January window, and made his first start of his second spell in Saturday’s impressive 2-0 win over Monaco.

The move back to the Geoffroy-Guichard has already turned him from World Cup no-hoper to dark horse. He is on Deschamps’ doorstep, and the early signs are good. Guilavogui underpinned Sainté’s midfield well on Saturday, making 5 tackles and 3 interceptions, allowing the typically more circumspect Fabien Lemoine the freedom to break forward and hit only the fourth goal of his club career to open the scoring. 

Guilavogui’s fellow 23-year-old, Clément Grenier, joins him in facing the Netherlands. The growth of his status following a strong finish to the last campaign and his senior international debut against Uruguay last June, has been exponential. After signing a new contract with Lyon, he has become a central figure at the Stade Gerland. He has often taken the captain’s armband when his good friend Maxime Gonalons has been unavailable, and Sunday’s performance against Montpellier spoke volumes of his sense of responsibility. 

In a game that Lyon dominated but were unable to put away, Grenier did as much as anyone to try and bend the game to his will, using his long-range shooting ability to take 8 efforts on goal, with 3 of them on target. His rating of 7.67 was slightly above his impressive season average of 7.23, and his contribution is consistently worthwhile. Grenier has 4 goals and 4 assists in 23 starts, from an average of 2.9 shots and 1.9 key passes per match (the latter figure rises to 2.8 in the Europa League). He also pitches in with 1.9 tackles per match in Ligue 1. 

If Deschamps was forced to make a choice between Grenier and Guilavogui, Grenier would surely get the nod - not just for his more active season, but for his greater versatility. He has played four different positions for Lyon this season, and is currently playing at the tip of the midfield diamond while Yoann Gourcuff recovers from injury.

Gourcuff’s own fitness difficulties make him an outsider for Brazil, even if his performances in this campaign have often been convincing. The former Milan and Bordeaux man numbers 3 goals and 5 assists in just 12 Ligue 1 starts. Only Paris Saint-Germain’s Lucas Moura, with 8 assists in only 13 starts, betters Gourcuff in terms of creative frequency in France’s top flight. One argument for Gourcuff is his recently acquired ability to play wide left, even if it’s not his preferred role, by his own admission.

Looking at the extras is becoming important, with so many able candidates looking like missing the boat. Geoffrey Kondogbia is at least making his presence felt at Monaco since the turn of the year, as recently discussed in this column. 

Yann M'Vila, out of sight and out of mind at mid-table Rubin Kazan in the Russian Premier League, is nearer his old self than when he left France last year - his pass completion rate of 86.3% proves he is as tidy in possession as ever - but he has fallen a long way of when Laurent Blanc built his Euro 2012 team around him. 

Etienne Capoue, like M'Vila linked with a move to Napoli in January, has looked accomplished when he has played for Tottenham, with an average of 2.1 tackles and 2.5 interceptions per game. Unfortunately he has only started 8 times in the Premier League. Such is the competition that poor Morgan Schneiderlin, Southampton's top tackler with 3.8 per match - plus 2.8 interceptions and an 88.8% pass rate success - isn't even in the picture.

For France's central midfielders, the message ahead of Brazil is be in the form of your life, be versatile - and on top of that, be lucky.

Which midfielders should be going to the World Cup with France? Let us know in the comments below