There are international destinies that never really come true, despite the laudable efforts of all parties concerned. That of Kingsley Coman in the France team is a bit there: he could have switched for the first time to the side of the eternal winners in the final of Euro 2016. Two golden balls for Grizou and Giroud, two duels lost. The second chance came this summer, at 3-3 against Switzerland, cross from Sissoko, perfect chest control, chained half volley… on the bar. Before yet another injury in overtime, which said everything about the Bavarian’s frustrated career in the blue jersey.
A thwarted international career
“Kingsley has a history in the France team often upset by injuries, judged DD in theTeam a few days ago. One of them prevented him from being at the World Cup. There, he plays and, in addition, he has just allowed the France team to go from a situation where it is led to another where it leads 3-1. So he wants to continue despite his muscle problem. It’s human. I think it will be difficult but I understand, he does not want to let go ”. Coman does not give up, in fact, otherwise he would have taken up pétanque since the time his body made him suffer through all the bones. Against Bosnia, again, his entry shook the blue coconut palm and aroused as much regret as envy: why can’t we make room for such a talent in the selection?
“In the French team, we always have what we deserve, analyzes Patrick Guillou, attentive commentator of the French in the Bundesliga every week on beIN Sport. Compared to his intrinsic qualities and what he shows at Bayern, there is a taste for unfinished business about what we see him doing with the Blues. We would like to see him perform over time, but there is always an injury, a blow that can reduce it, and that leads to a kind of fatalism. “
The figures are pretty crazy when you dig a little: out of 33, selections, Coman was only able to string together three starts in a row on only one occasion, in the fall of 2019. A moment of grace then made possible by the injury by Kylian Mbappé. Here we are: it is as if the French staff had never found a way to align two players at the same time, whose profile they must consider too similar. So as Mbappé will always be the first choice, Coman must be satisfied with the crumbs.
Never the opportunity to chain
The situation annoys him, sometimes, as during the Euro, where indiscretions pointed out his impatience to start the matches, he who had to leave the group for a few days to attend the birth of his child in full competition. But he never complains publicly about it, which is also part of the character. Coman rarely defends his fat in the press, while like Kylian Mbappé (decidedly), he is very comfortable in the exercise, as he explained in
one of his rare interviews to eleven worldwide in 2020:
“I do not appear too much in the media because at the beginning, when I spoke in the press, it was for my fans, so that they know me a little more. After that, all the media picked up on the thing in their own way, choosing the title that suited them, and in the end, the message didn’t get the way I wanted it to. I would rather people have no idea about me than they don’t know me. This is why you might think that I am an introvert. I do well in interviews, I have an ease in speaking because I do not lie, I do not speak in the language of wood Unfortunately, not all truth is good to say. “
Better than a luxury joker one day?
A better autopromo would however help him to contradict some received ideas. For example that he could not be aligned in addition to the non-negotiable offensive trident of Deschamps because that would harm the general balance of the Blues: “In addition to his incredible qualities of elimination both in the transition but also stopped on a step, Kingsley does not have that nonchalance of certain offensive players with the loss of the ball, argues Guillou. He is immediately able to make the counter-effort or occupy the right space when his team is defending. “Objectively observable finding against Switzerland, where the attitude of the Bayern winger is irreproachable on the goal of Seferovic who comes from his side (3-2), unlike Rabiot, much more neutral throughout the action . Nothing to say either on his entry against Portugal, in pools, at a time when everyone was content with a draw.
🎙 “The salvation of this team will require a change of composition! When you see Coman when he comes home, he dribbles the whole stadium!”
🇫🇷 Éric Di Meco believes that it is high time to install Kingsley Coman as a starter in the composition of the France team. #rmclive pic.twitter.com/DSsKDlnM96
– Super Moscato Show (@Moscato_Show) September 2, 2021
The crazy scenario of the round of 16 seems despite everything to have condemned Coman in the short term, without much to do with it. DD in theTeam : “Even if I consider that the more offensive option, of an attack to four, was valid, I had the confirmation that it was doable over thirty minutes or a half-time, but that on a whole match, facing an opponent capable of holding the ball, it is much more complicated. “Always this damn fate playing tricks on the old Parisian, which we imagine less and less reversing the trend in the long term. Patrick Guillou still believes in it: “I would like him to get rid of this psychological or physical sword of Damocles in the France team, and for his qualities to be recognized in a precise game system that favors his risk taking. ”
Kylian Mbappé’s calf discomfort should clear the landscape for Ukraine and Finland. Afterwards, we’ll see.