Though Djibril Sidibe and Florian Thauvin have yet to see any action with France at the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia, they remain as motivated as ever and aware of the role they have to play as fringe members of the Bleus squad.
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It was only a few short weeks ago that Monaco right-back Sidibe seemed set for a starting place in Russia. An untimely injury, coupled with some excellent performances by Benjamin Pavard, have seen him drop down the pecking order in the France squad, however.
I’m happy to be at the World Cup, said a smiling Sidibe, who remains committed to the cause and considers himself fortunate to have made the trip: When you’re training every day with players of this quality, you really progress.
Olympique Marseille forward Thauvin finds himself in a similar position to Sidibe, which is no real surprise given the stiff competition for places and his status as a new arrival in the squad. The 25-year-old has been excelling in training, scoring a hat-trick in the second string’s 11-0 defeat of Spartak Moscow’s U-19 side on the day after France’s hard-fought 1-0 win over Peru.
In French, fringe players are known as coiffeurs because their ultimate aim is to coiffer (‘take’) the place of the first-choice players. Didier Deschamps has been full of praise for the exemplary attitude of his coiffeurs and how quickly they have adapted to the group, though they have every intention of getting off the bench at some stage of the competition: “Obviously I want to play and get out on the pitch; that’s what I’m here for. I’m giving my all but it’s tough to get a place,” explained Thauvin, who played alongside Paul Pogba and Samuel Umtiti when France won the FIFA U-20 World Cup Turkey 2013.
Olympique Marseille forward Thauvin finds himself in a similar position to Sidibe, which is no real surprise given the stiff competition for places and his status as a new arrival in the squad. The 25-year-old has been excelling in training, scoring a hat-trick in the second string’s 11-0 defeat of Spartak Moscow’s U-19 side on the day after France’s hard-fought 1-0 win over Peru.
In French, fringe players are known as coiffeurs because their ultimate aim is to coiffer (‘take’) the place of the first-choice players. Didier Deschamps has been full of praise for the exemplary attitude of his coiffeurs and how quickly they have adapted to the group, though they have every intention of getting off the bench at some stage of the competition: Obviously I want to play and get out on the pitch; that’s what I’m here for. I’m giving my all but it’s tough to get a place, explained Thauvin, who played alongside Paul Pogba and Samuel Umtiti when France won the FIFA U-20 World Cup Turkey 2013.
