Cherki, France U-21s look ahead
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Having qualified for next summer's European Championships (if barely) following a busy summer that saw them win the silver medal at the Olympics in Paris, France's U-21s are set to play a pair of friendlies tomorrow and Tuesday. The opposition will be of a high caliber -- Italy and Germany are their opponents, but with qualification next summer secured, manager Gérard Baticle has selected a squad with several new faces -- and one or two key veterans.
Experience in attack ...
Those key veterans are headlined by Rayan Cherki of Olympique Lyonnais and Arnaud Kalimuendo of Stade Rennais. The two have combined for nearly fifty caps for Les Espoirs, as they are known, with twenty goals scored in that span. But while Kalimuendo and his Rennes side have struggled this season -- the striker hasn't found the net in Ligue McDonald's since September -- Cherki seems to have turned a page in his development in a major way, despite Lyon's somewhat uneven performances.
Yes, Les Gones are coming off a gritty derby win against Saint-Étienne and are well-positioned in the Europa League with seven points from their four matches, but they've looked blunted on occasion domestically -- no team in the top seven has scored fewer goals. Little of that, however is down to Cherki, who has become a first -team regular for his boyhood club after settling a contract extension earlier in the season. With three goals and three assists in just seven starts, he has decisively moved ahead of expensive acquisitions like Ernest Nuamah and Saïd Benrahma in the pecking order, and looks to be ready to take the next step as the team's leading man ahead of a tournament in which France haven't so much as reached the final since 2002, despite a wellspring of talent.
... and new faces elsewhere
While Cherki and Kalimuendo look to be key men in Baticle's attack, much of the rest of the squad is relatively untested, but will be no doubt familiar to followers of Ligue 1 McDonald's. With the likes of Dilane Bakwa, Quentin Merlin and Maghnes Akliouche unavailable, Baticle has called up no less than seven uncapped players from the French top flight.
Some, like Strasbourg goalkeeper Robin Risser, have been part of squads before, while others, like Le Havre defender ´Étienne Youté are yet to be included. Besides, Youté, who is expected to start tomorrow evening, other uncapped players include AS Monaco's Christian Mawissa, FC Nantes defender Nathan Zézé and LOSC Lille's standout teenage midfielder, Ayyoub Bouaddi. After impressing for Les Dogues in the Champions League and domestically, Bouaddi has attracted plenty of attention, and he's expected to step into Baticle's first choice eleven, making these two matches, friendlies though they may be, compelling watching.
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