With Kylian Mbappe potentially leading the way, France eyeing summer haul with Euro 2024 and Olympics

France arrives this summer as pre-tournament favorites not only for UEFA Euro 2024 but also for men’s football at the Olympic Games. Les Bleus’ talent pool is packed with established players and prospects and no team will be considered stronger – at least on paper – heading to Germany. A look at Didier Deschamps’ European squad and Thierry Henry’s Olympic group underlines the impressive array of talent available to French teams at the moment.

Real Madrid’s new signing Kylian Mbappe will captain France as they start the campaign in a winnable Group D against Austria, the Netherlands and Poland, starting on Monday. However, the French star also hopes to lead his country on home soil later in the summer with the chance to win Olympic gold.

Mbappe’s future may be resolved and Deschamps knows Olivier Giroud is following former captain Hugo Lloris and Raphael Varane into international retirement, but will this be his last dance? Speculation has been growing lately though he is contracted until the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be co-hosted by Mexico, Canada and the USA.

We see what to expect from France in the two summer tournaments.

Euro 2024

Les Bleus are the favorites for this summer’s European title, with a squad at full strength, apart from Paris Saint-Germain’s Lucas Hernandez, who was very unlucky to be injured late in the season. A group with Austria, the Netherlands and Poland doesn’t really fear Deschamps’ team, which usually grows in these tournaments, but it will be interesting to see the team’s new dynamics. Gone are former pillars Lloris and Varane, with Mbappe bringing a different leadership approach and new key figures emerging, such as Adrien Rabiot behind Antoine Griezmann.

It’s surprising when you look at the quality of players with 15 appearances or less who haven’t been called up this summer. Chelsea’s Christopher Nkunku, Axel Disasi, Malo Gusto and Wesley Fofana, Aston Villa’s Moussa Diaby and Boubacar Kamara, OGC Nice’s Khephren Thuram and Jean-Clair Todibo, as well as SS Lazio’s Matteo Guendouzi and RB Leipzig’s Castello Lukeba are many talents unused.

Olympics

A few names originally appeared in the Euros and Olympics talks, but Henry had his work cut out after a barrage of initial rejections. The main topic of the debate is the non-selection of Mbappe – for now – but an excess place will be saved if Real allows him to participate. The Spanish giants could offer an alternative, with Aurelien Tchouameni’s Euros possibly compromised due to injury, but France’s priority remains Mbappe.

PSG have blocked Warren Zaire-Emery and Bradley Barcola, while Lille OSC withdraw Lucas Chevalier, Leny Yoro and Bafode Diakite and Bayern Munich also block Mathys Tel. With Alexandre Lacazette and Jean-Philippe Mateta as the two overage players – for now – this illustrates the challenges Henry faces in living up to his title as the hosts’ favourite. Olympique Lyonnais’ surprise selection of Lacazette suggests other clubs are lining up to make life more difficult for him too, with further rejections.

French market

All of this comes against the backdrop of enormous uncertainty at club level, with professional football – Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 – mired in doubts due to the absence of a television rights agreement from next season onwards. Suddenly this means that very few French clubs – even PSG – can’t actually sign new players at the moment because of their precarious finances, which suddenly creates a huge opportunity for foreign clubs to shop in France and get an excellent relationship. cost-benefit as clubs struggle to keep their heads above water and hope for a silver bullet financial solution. French clubs export talent better than most, but the idea was to turn the tide and start keeping more national production in the domestic game to improve their value, but the opposite could be about to happen and a successful Euros and Olympics they would only attract more vultures to this unwanted situation.