Al-Ittihad, France: where is N’Golo Kanté?

This Thursday, Didier Deschamps surprised everyone. When announcing his list for Euro 2024 which will take place in Germany, the Blues coach mentioned the name of N’Golo Kanté. A surprise, or almost, since the information had leaked to the press a few minutes before the official announcement. But seeing the 33-year-old midfielder on the list was surprising since he has not worn the Blues jersey since June 2022. He therefore did not play in the World Cup in Qatar and was not called up since then either. So obviously, this raises questions. And on the set of TF1DD wanted to justify himself.

“I can understand that the supporters of the France team did not follow his journey, he is now in Saudi Arabia, it is more complicated, he came out of a 2022/2023 season with a major injury, but without that would have been part of my list for the World Cup in Qatar. After that, he had a full season, he regained all his physical abilities and thanks to his experience and his physique, I am convinced that the French team will be better with him” he blurted out before continuing. “He has athletic abilities, he has found them again, he has played a lot of matches, we can discuss the specific intensity in Saudi Arabia with the temperature and the humidity level which leads to slower second halves in the pace, but I have no doubt about his ability”. By talking about his physical form, Didier Deschamps perhaps underlines the criterion which made the difference in this choice.

The club’s most used player

Since his transfer to Saudi Arabia to Al-Ittihad, the same club as a certain Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kanté has found consistency and rhythm. This season, he has played 42 matches with his club (3641 minutes currently played). To find a season with so much playing time for the Frenchman, we have to go back to the 2018/2019 season where he played 53 matches (4185 minutes played). Proof that at the age of 33, the former Caen midfielder has regained a certain regularity and has above all been preserved from injuries. Indeed, this season, he has not experienced the slightest physical problem, which is rather rare in his playing career. This has not happened since this 2018/2019 season as well.

In addition to the playing time (he is the most used player in the squad by far), and despite the disappointing sporting results of his club with an elimination from the Champions League and the loss of the title to Al- Hilal, N’Golo Kanté has also regained confidence in his game. Mainly used as a sentry or in a two-man environment with the former Monegasque Fabinho in particular, the former Blues player was decisive several times. Author of 6 assists and 4 goals this season, he displays his best record since the start of his career, in a championship that is certainly less competitive. But the 2023-2024 season of N’Golo Kanté, who is also in a sector of play with interesting opponents (Seko Fofana, Ruben Neves, Milinkovic-Savic, Otavio, Gabi Veiga, Franck Kessié or even Brozovic) proves that he has what it takes to help out the Blues in a sector often decimated by injuries in recent years.