Olivier Giroud reaffirmed N'Golo Kante's importance to France's World Cup campaign despite the midfielder being 35 and having played abroad for two years. Kante recently joined Fenerbahçe from Saudi Arabia's Al-Nassr and has maintained the form that made him essential to France's 2018 World Cup triumph.
Giroud predicted manager Didier Deschamps will likely field Aurélien Tchouaméni and Adrien Rabiot in midfield for France's opening against Senegal, keeping Kante on the bench initially. "You need balance between attack and defence, and N'Golo always brings that to every team he plays in," Giroud said.
Giroud noted France will deploy four attacking players—Michael Olise, Ousmane Dembélé, Désiré Doué, and Kylian Mbappé—requiring midfield stability that only Kante provides. "Even if Deschamps does not play him from the start, he will be happy and he will help in every game anyway. In some of them we will really need him," Giroud added.
Kante has earned 69 caps for Les Bleus since his 2016 debut. Deschamps' willingness to select players from non-European leagues reflects evolving pragmatism in squad selection, contrasting his previous stance on overseas players.
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