5 players who could make their international debut for France very soon

France v Spain - International Friendly
Didier Deschamps will be free to test his bench out, having already qualified for the World Cup

Already qualified for the World Cup, France boss Didier Deschamps will have the luxury of experimenting with his squad over the course of the next six months before finalising the team he takes to Russia next summer.

Les Bleus are expected to be one of the favourites as they boast a side bristling with world-class talent.

Nevertheless, Deschamps is set to check out some alternatives in the weeks and months ahead, not least because his side has been hit so significantly with injury problems of late.

A raft of experienced players will not feature against Wales or Germany in the forthcoming friendlies, with the likes of Hugo Lloris, Benjamin Mendy, Paul Pogba and Ousmane Dembele all missing.

That has opened the door for a new generation of France stars to make their way into the national side, and in the days ahead several are expected to debut.

Here are five men who could make their first appearance for Les Bleus in the very near future:


#5 Alphonse Areola

International Champions Cup 2017 - Paris Saint-Germain v Tottenham Hotspur
International Champions Cup 2017 - Paris Saint-Germain v Tottenham Hotspur

This time last year, there was doubt as to whether Alphonse Areola would last at the top level. He had just returned to Paris Saint-Germain after a stellar loan spell with Villarreal, but was struggling to hold down a position in the starting XI ahead of Kevin Trapp, with both shot-stoppers proving to be frustratingly error prone.

Having been given the confidence of head coach Unai Emery over the summer, the 24-year-old has returned a different player. Although he may not have a great deal of work to do, what he has done has been incredibly assured.

His command of his penalty box has improved immeasurably and his shot stopping is of a high level. It speaks volumes that he has kept 11 clean sheets in a total of 16 Ligue 1 and Champions League matches to date.

With Hugo Lloris and Steve Mandanda, who have been the national team goalkeepers for the best part of a decade now, over 30 years of age, he will be looking to earn his first international cap and push his way into the reckoning to play at World Cup 2018.

He has been named in the squad to face Wales and Germany over the coming few days and can expect to return to PSG a full international at last.

#4 Presnel Kimpembe

International Champions Cup 2017 - AS Roma v Paris Saint-Germain
International Champions Cup 2017 - AS Roma v Paris Saint-Germain

When Presnel Kimpembe first broke into the French international set up last year, it was partly out of convenience. A spate of late withdrawals meant that Didier Deschamps was left scrambling for a player, and with the PSG defender simply in close proximity, it seemed a nice reward for the promising manner in which he had started the season.

Now, though, the 22-year-old is in the panel on merit, though still fourth choice in the centre-back role behind Laurent Koscielny, Samuel Umitit and Raphael Varane.

He seems to have learned a great deal from playing with Thiago Silva and Marquinhos at club level and in particular shows some of the traits of the former, which made the Brazilian such a colossus at the back. He reads the game well, tackles shrewdly and rarely makes the type of cheap error associated with young players.

With the World Cup rapidly approaching, Kimpembe is unlikely to go to Russia as a starting player, but Deschamps will want him battle-hardened at the international level, and that means capping him for the first time.

The PSG man is a major talent and is certainly one of the best products from their youth academy, in recent seasons, along with Adrien Rabiot. The Frenchman might just make his international debut over the next few days as well.

#3 Benjamin Pavard

Benjamin
Benjamin Pavard's versatility has boosted his rise to prominence

Benjamin Pavard is probably the least well known of the entire France squad that Didier Deschamps has called to play Wales and Germany over the course of the next week, but the Stuttgart defender will seek to make the most of his call by impressing the coach on the training field – and perhaps even on the park itself.

The centre-back broke through the ranks of Lille in 2015 but was moved on to Stuttgart a year later, and in the Bundesliga, he has positively flourished. Already, this season, he has earned himself the status as an ever-present with his versatility, meaning that he has been used in three different roles – a talent that Deschamps will no doubt have noticed.

Indeed, it is perhaps at right-back that he is likeliest to feature over the course of the next week, with that position the one role on the entire field where Les Bleus are lacking both, strength and numbers.

He is most at home in the heart of a back four, though he is also an accomplished defensive midfielder.

“It's one of the best days of my life because I really didn't expect it in fact. I'm not going to hide the fact I cried and my parents too, because all the sacrifices we have made since I was little have paid off. I don't think I've ever cried as much. It's only the start, the hardest part is to come,” he said of his call.

#2 Steven N’Zonzi

Sevilla FC v Istanbul Basaksehir F.K. - UEFA Champions League Qualifying Play-Offs Round: Second Leg
Sevilla FC v Istanbul Basaksehir F.K. - UEFA Champions League Qualifying Play-Offs Round: Second Leg

Should Steven N’Zonzi feature for France, it would mark a new chapter in what has been a quite chaotic international career to date. He has twice turned down the opportunity to feature for DR Congo, the nation of his ancestry, while an attempt to play for England was thwarted as it emerged he is not eligible.

Now the former Stoke man, who currently plies his trade with Sevilla in La Liga, may finally get his chance to shine for his country after playing six times at Under-21 level.

Born in Paris, the defensive midfielder has often been compared to Patrick Vieira due to the ground he covers over the course of a game and also his box-to-box nature.

Opportunities at this standard, though, have been scant due to the rich variety of options that Deschamps has at his disposal, including N’Golo Kante, Blaise Matuidi, Adrien Rabiot and Paul Pogba, who is currently missing due to a hamstring injury.

He is excelling currently at club level, with Arsenal reportedly interested in him this summer.

At 28, he has been forced to be patient, but ff N’Zonzi is to make himself a fixture for the national team, this could be his only shot, and if he gets any game time at all, he may have to make the most of it.

#1 Moussa Dembele

Celtic FC v Manchester City FC - UEFA Champions League
Celtic FC v Manchester City FC - UEFA Champions League

In attack, France have a richness of options that means it will be difficult for new talent to break through, yet, Celtic striker Moussa Dembele was pre-selected for the most recent set of internationals, indicating that Didier Deschamps is keeping a close eye on his progress.

Strong with his back to goal, decent in the air and a smart finisher, it may be that the coach sees the 21-year-old as a legitimate alternative to Olivier Giroud, should Les Bleus need to call upon a physical target man for their cause.

There is a fear that the former Paris Saint-Germain youth has not truly been tested at the top level, but he offers a different kind of profile to the remaining striking corps of the national team.

The likes of Alexandre Lacazette, Kylian Mbappe, Anthony Martial, Kingsley Coman and Antoine Griezmann are all more capable facing goal; Dembele, on the other hand, is a more natural focal point, and is someone others can build from.

Having missed much of the season in Scotland because of injury, the frontman has scored six goals in only 12 appearances, finding the net on average once every 94 minutes on the field in all competitions that he has been involved in.

Should he continue at this rate, there can be little doubt that he will come into focus for transfer speculation, but also international honours.

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Edited by Aakanksh Sanketh