Tchouameni emerges as new leader of France midfield at World Cup

France’s midfielder #08 Aurelien Tchouameni reacts after a challenge during the Qatar 2022 World Cup quarter-final football match between England and France at the Al-Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, north of Doha, on December 10, 2022. (Photo by Jewel SAMAD / AFP)

Aurelien Tchouameni might do most of his work in the shadows, but the France midfielder lit up the World Cup with his brilliant opening goal in Saturday’s quarter-final win over England.

The 22-year-old later gave away the first penalty of the game at Al Bayt Stadium which Harry Kane scored to equalise for England, yet France eventually ran out 2-1 winners and Tchouameni’s role for the holders has been vital given the problems they faced coming into the tournament.

The outlook for coach Didier Deschamps and his side appeared grim when they were struck by an avalanche of injuries, not least with their starting midfield duo of Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante both being ruled out.

Deschamps had to completely reconfigure his team, including abandoning his experiment with a back three, but his decision to build a three-man midfield around Tchouameni with Adrien Rabiot and Antoine Griezmann either side of the Real Madrid man has paid off.

Now when his teammates push forward to join the attack, “he is there to cover us, fill in, plug gaps and win the ball back,” said Rabiot, who has also impressed on France’s run to the semi-finals in Qatar, where they will face Morocco on Wednesday.

Yet Tchouameni has hardly come from nowhere to start for his country at this World Cup.

The recurring fitness worries of Pogba and Kante — two stars of France’s triumphant campaign four years ago — allowed the powerful and athletic midfielder to make his debut in a qualifier against Bosnia and Herzegovina