WHEN FRANCE WON the World Cup for the first time in 1998, their team was full of stars.
Thierry Henry, Zinedine Zidane, Robert Pires, Lilian Thuram, Fabien Barthez, David Trezeguet, Patrick Vieira and Youri Djorkaeff were among the high-profile names to make the squad, while other great talents such as David Ginola and Eric Cantona were omitted.
Similarly, this time around, they have Kylian Mbappé, Michael Olise, Ousmane Dembélé, Désiré Doué and William Saliba among others.
The 1998 side were largely a young team, but one of the most important and underrated performers was Didier Deschamps.
The future France manager was among the few players from the older guard retained by coach Aimé Jacquet, succeeding Cantona as captain, complementing younger talents like Zidane, Thuram and Vieira.
The Juventus star was primarily a defensive player who broke up opposition attacks, in contrast with the flair players prominent elsewhere in the team.
He was derisively nicknamed ‘the water carrier’ by Cantona, yet silenced the critics, captaining the team to both the World Cup ’98 and Euro 2000 successes, and holding the record for most appearances for France at the time of his retirement.
Probably the closest equivalent to Deschamps in the current France side is Adrien Rabiot.
The AC Milan star is one of the least famous and most underrated players in the current France side – he wasn’t included in ESPN’s pre-tournament predicted starting XI for the team.
Like Deschamps, though, he is not as eye-catching as his more illustrious teammates, but tends to be appreciated more by teammates than fans, mixing tenacity with technical ability, while he has the football intelligence to play effectively in several different positions.
And of course, Rabiot will be instrumental if France are to triumph.
The 31-year-old was rested for the group-stage game with Norway when the team had already secured their place in the knockout rounds, but he has played every other minute of this World Cup campaign.
Advertisement
Tonight will be Rabiot’s biggest test.
Spain are the first truly elite team that Les Bleus have faced, and midfield is their area of greatest strength.
Their attack has been hampered by an injury to Nico Williams, while fellow winger Lamine Yamal has struggled for form and fitness.
Although Mikel Oyarzabal has had an excellent tournament with four goals from six matches, the fact that he is playing for Real Sociedad at 29 suggests he is not on a par with the world’s best strikers.
Similarly, despite conceding only one goal at the tournament, Spain’s centre-back pairing is inferior to France – Barcelona’s Pau Cubarsí is only 19, and Aymeric Laporte is 32 and on the books at an Athletic Bilbao that finished in 12th place in La Liga last season.
Midfield and full-back are the only two areas where you could make a strong case that La Roja have better options.
In the former area, they have an embarrassment of riches.
In the quarter-finals, the reigning European champions had the luxury of leaving gifted Barcelona duo Gavi and Pedri, along with eventual match-winner Mikel Merino, on the bench.
Whether Luis de la Fuente deviates from his most recent starting trio of Rodri, Fabián Ruiz and Dani Olmo is uncertain.
But either way, Rabiot and his likely midfield partner, Manu Koné, will have an unenviable task on their hands.
The degree of success France have in stopping Spain’s midfield will be key to determining the game’s outcome.
Two years ago, the aforementioned trio started in Spain’s Euro 2024 semi-final win against Deschamps’ side. They came up against a midfield of Rabiot, Aurélien Tchouaméni and N’Golo Kanté, finished the game with 58% possession and were generally regarded as deserving winners.
Rabiot pictured with France boss Didier Deschamps. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
The upcoming match also brings to mind a key difference between Rabiot and Deschamps.
While the French manager’s interviews tend to be as low-key as his reputation as a player, Rabiot can be more provocative when talking to the media.
Before that Euro 2024 semi-final, the Paris-born footballer said of Yamal: “To play the final of a Euro, he’ll need to show much more than he has until now.”
The then-16-year-old subsequently hit the crucial equalising goal in the game, thereby becoming the youngest goalscorer in European Championship history.
As he celebrated, the Barcelona starlet shouted “speak now” into the camera in an ostensible reference to Rabiot’s quip.
It was far from the first or last ill-advised action in Rabiot’s career.
In 2018, he narrowly missed out on a place in France’s World Cup squad and refused a spot on the standby list, emailing Deschamps to explain he would not “be able to follow the training programme”.
“His disappointment does not allow him to give up and not to serve the France team,” Noel le Graet, president of the France Football Federation, said. “To be part of the collective of France, to be among the best French players, is a chance and a privilege in the career of a player.
“He made a bad decision. He penalises himself and sanctions himself alone.”
Rabiot was later recalled, and at Euro 2020, he filled in as an emergency left-back following injuries to Lucas Hernández and Lucas Digne.
He remained an important player for the 2022 World Cup in his preferred central midfield position, starting in the final against Argentina and has retained his status as a key figure since then.
His club career too has included no shortage of controversy.
While at PSG in 2018, along with Mbappé, Rabiot was dropped by then-coach Thomas Tuchel after arriving late to a pre-match meeting.
Rabiot was also suspended by the Ligue 1 side for attending a nightclub in the wake of his side getting knocked out of the Champions League by Man United and liking a Patrice Evra Instagram post celebrating the Red Devils’ win.
The player subsequently refused to renew his contract and was forced to train with the reserves amid an acrimonious exit.
Related Reads
Final week of World Cup will be defined by genius and force of will
If World Cup is about connection, Norway will feel they just got a slap in the face
'At that moment, I wanted to die' - The rise and fall of Roberto Baggio
Rabiot’s five-year stint at Juventus was comparatively calm, but the same could not be said for his time at Marseille.
Last August, less than a year after joining the team for free, he was placed on the transfer list.
The decision came after what the club described as “unacceptable behaviour in the locker room” after a 1-0 loss away to Rennes.
The incident, which involved English teammate Jonathan Rowe (who was also placed on the transfer list), was likened to an “English pub fight” by then-manager Roberto De Zerbi. Meanwhile, club president Pablo Longoria described it as “extremely violent”.
Rowe is now on the books at Bologna while Rabiot also moved to Serie A, enjoying a successful season for AC Milan, who finished fifth in the table, and rejuvenating a career that looked at risk of going off the rails.
Despite his fiery nature, though, there is no doubting Rabiot’s talent.
In addition to 64 international caps and over 500 senior appearances at club level, he has won five league titles in France and one in Italy. Having finished with a runners-up medal in 2022 and just missed out on the squad in 2018, the experienced footballer will feel like he has unfinished business with France at this World Cup.
While he may not have the reputation of a Rodri or Pedri, those within the game understand Rabiot’s immense value to the team.
Andrea Pirlo, the Italy legend who knows more than most about what it takes to be a top-level midfielder, once said of the French star: ”He is a complete player, I have rarely seen someone so strong both physically and technically.”
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
A year ago, he left France in disgrace. Now, he's starring in a World Cup semi
WHEN FRANCE WON the World Cup for the first time in 1998, their team was full of stars.
Thierry Henry, Zinedine Zidane, Robert Pires, Lilian Thuram, Fabien Barthez, David Trezeguet, Patrick Vieira and Youri Djorkaeff were among the high-profile names to make the squad, while other great talents such as David Ginola and Eric Cantona were omitted.
Similarly, this time around, they have Kylian Mbappé, Michael Olise, Ousmane Dembélé, Désiré Doué and William Saliba among others.
The 1998 side were largely a young team, but one of the most important and underrated performers was Didier Deschamps.
The future France manager was among the few players from the older guard retained by coach Aimé Jacquet, succeeding Cantona as captain, complementing younger talents like Zidane, Thuram and Vieira.
The Juventus star was primarily a defensive player who broke up opposition attacks, in contrast with the flair players prominent elsewhere in the team.
He was derisively nicknamed ‘the water carrier’ by Cantona, yet silenced the critics, captaining the team to both the World Cup ’98 and Euro 2000 successes, and holding the record for most appearances for France at the time of his retirement.
Probably the closest equivalent to Deschamps in the current France side is Adrien Rabiot.
The AC Milan star is one of the least famous and most underrated players in the current France side – he wasn’t included in ESPN’s pre-tournament predicted starting XI for the team.
Like Deschamps, though, he is not as eye-catching as his more illustrious teammates, but tends to be appreciated more by teammates than fans, mixing tenacity with technical ability, while he has the football intelligence to play effectively in several different positions.
And of course, Rabiot will be instrumental if France are to triumph.
The 31-year-old was rested for the group-stage game with Norway when the team had already secured their place in the knockout rounds, but he has played every other minute of this World Cup campaign.
Tonight will be Rabiot’s biggest test.
Spain are the first truly elite team that Les Bleus have faced, and midfield is their area of greatest strength.
Their attack has been hampered by an injury to Nico Williams, while fellow winger Lamine Yamal has struggled for form and fitness.
Although Mikel Oyarzabal has had an excellent tournament with four goals from six matches, the fact that he is playing for Real Sociedad at 29 suggests he is not on a par with the world’s best strikers.
Similarly, despite conceding only one goal at the tournament, Spain’s centre-back pairing is inferior to France – Barcelona’s Pau Cubarsí is only 19, and Aymeric Laporte is 32 and on the books at an Athletic Bilbao that finished in 12th place in La Liga last season.
Midfield and full-back are the only two areas where you could make a strong case that La Roja have better options.
In the former area, they have an embarrassment of riches.
In the quarter-finals, the reigning European champions had the luxury of leaving gifted Barcelona duo Gavi and Pedri, along with eventual match-winner Mikel Merino, on the bench.
Whether Luis de la Fuente deviates from his most recent starting trio of Rodri, Fabián Ruiz and Dani Olmo is uncertain.
But either way, Rabiot and his likely midfield partner, Manu Koné, will have an unenviable task on their hands.
The degree of success France have in stopping Spain’s midfield will be key to determining the game’s outcome.
Two years ago, the aforementioned trio started in Spain’s Euro 2024 semi-final win against Deschamps’ side. They came up against a midfield of Rabiot, Aurélien Tchouaméni and N’Golo Kanté, finished the game with 58% possession and were generally regarded as deserving winners.
The upcoming match also brings to mind a key difference between Rabiot and Deschamps.
While the French manager’s interviews tend to be as low-key as his reputation as a player, Rabiot can be more provocative when talking to the media.
Before that Euro 2024 semi-final, the Paris-born footballer said of Yamal: “To play the final of a Euro, he’ll need to show much more than he has until now.”
The then-16-year-old subsequently hit the crucial equalising goal in the game, thereby becoming the youngest goalscorer in European Championship history.
As he celebrated, the Barcelona starlet shouted “speak now” into the camera in an ostensible reference to Rabiot’s quip.
It was far from the first or last ill-advised action in Rabiot’s career.
In 2018, he narrowly missed out on a place in France’s World Cup squad and refused a spot on the standby list, emailing Deschamps to explain he would not “be able to follow the training programme”.
“His disappointment does not allow him to give up and not to serve the France team,” Noel le Graet, president of the France Football Federation, said. “To be part of the collective of France, to be among the best French players, is a chance and a privilege in the career of a player.
“He made a bad decision. He penalises himself and sanctions himself alone.”
Rabiot was later recalled, and at Euro 2020, he filled in as an emergency left-back following injuries to Lucas Hernández and Lucas Digne.
He remained an important player for the 2022 World Cup in his preferred central midfield position, starting in the final against Argentina and has retained his status as a key figure since then.
His club career too has included no shortage of controversy.
While at PSG in 2018, along with Mbappé, Rabiot was dropped by then-coach Thomas Tuchel after arriving late to a pre-match meeting.
Rabiot was also suspended by the Ligue 1 side for attending a nightclub in the wake of his side getting knocked out of the Champions League by Man United and liking a Patrice Evra Instagram post celebrating the Red Devils’ win.
The player subsequently refused to renew his contract and was forced to train with the reserves amid an acrimonious exit.
Rabiot’s five-year stint at Juventus was comparatively calm, but the same could not be said for his time at Marseille.
Last August, less than a year after joining the team for free, he was placed on the transfer list.
The decision came after what the club described as “unacceptable behaviour in the locker room” after a 1-0 loss away to Rennes.
The incident, which involved English teammate Jonathan Rowe (who was also placed on the transfer list), was likened to an “English pub fight” by then-manager Roberto De Zerbi. Meanwhile, club president Pablo Longoria described it as “extremely violent”.
Rowe is now on the books at Bologna while Rabiot also moved to Serie A, enjoying a successful season for AC Milan, who finished fifth in the table, and rejuvenating a career that looked at risk of going off the rails.
Despite his fiery nature, though, there is no doubting Rabiot’s talent.
In addition to 64 international caps and over 500 senior appearances at club level, he has won five league titles in France and one in Italy. Having finished with a runners-up medal in 2022 and just missed out on the squad in 2018, the experienced footballer will feel like he has unfinished business with France at this World Cup.
While he may not have the reputation of a Rodri or Pedri, those within the game understand Rabiot’s immense value to the team.
Andrea Pirlo, the Italy legend who knows more than most about what it takes to be a top-level midfielder, once said of the French star: ”He is a complete player, I have rarely seen someone so strong both physically and technically.”
Check out the latest episode of The 42′s Football Family podcast here
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
2026 world cup adrien rabiot Didier Deschamps In From The Cold Pedri Rodri Soccer talking point