Team newspaper: France s left-back talent is lacking, Digne may play in the World Cup as the starter

According to the "League" report, due to the lack of talent in the left-back of the French team, Digne, now 32, may play in the 2026 World Cup as the starter.

The French team has high-level players in multiple positions. For this team, it is more about facing "happy troubles", that is, how to make difficult choices among many outstanding players. However, the competition is relatively not fierce in the left-back position.

Deschamps' assistant Stefan once said: "Whether it is the left or right back, when we list the player list and select five candidates for each position, we need to think carefully. Generally speaking, players want to develop in the middle. This requires us to reflect on youth training, because it is undisputed that there are not many excellent full-backs in France. This problem exists not only in the senior team, but also in our youth team."

For young players, full-backs are not their first choice. For example, Lilian Toulam won the championship as a right-back at the 1998 World Cup and the 2000 European Cup before gaining a foothold in the middle. In the current French team, Conde and Paval are also more inclined to develop in the middle. Recently, the former has changed his mind and become the best candidate for the right back, while the latter has difficulty gaining a foothold when facing fierce competition in the middle.

For the coaching staff, using central defenders to fill the full back position is a temporary response, and it is also in line with Deschamps' philosophy that defense work should maintain its defensive nature, although he is willing to give full-backs a certain degree of freedom. At the 2018 World Cup, Lucas Hernandez performed well on the left, but later returned to the middle and faced the same competitive situation as Paval.

Since being selected for the national team for the first time in 2014, Lucas Digne (Vera) is both the oldest and most promising player to start at the 2026 World Cup. Theo Hernandez also had the same dream, while Quentin Merlin (Renn), Adrian Truffel (Bornemouth) and Ferran Mendy (Real Madrid) started late. Merlin has not yet entered the adult national team, Truffel has only played once in September 2022, and Mendy has never appeared on the national team roster since the 2024 European Cup.