While Ronald Koeman is happy that he can field three attackers for the Dutch national team after the many cancellations, his French colleague Didier Deschamps has a lot to choose from on Friday in the Johan Cruijff Arena. In addition to star player Kylian Mbappé, who plays as a left winger, the question is always who will start as a striker and who will start as a right winger.
“I’m not going to complain about the fact that I have these options,” said Deschamps at the start of the training camp in Clairefontaine. In the home match against the Dutch in March in the European Championship qualification (4-0), the French started with Randal Kolo Muani as striker and Kingsley Coman as right winger. Marcus Thuram and the experienced Olivier Giroud are also in the picture for the striker position. Coman has competition on the right from Ousmane Dembélé, among others.
Since losing the World Cup final against Argentina in December, Deschamps has varied. “Olivier and Marcus have a profile that is somewhat similar,” says the national coach about the striker position. “Kolo Muani is a slightly different type, with more depth.” Deschamps also says he takes fitness into account. Giroud is now 37 years old. “He doesn’t play many full matches.”
The choice between Coman and Dembélé is a difficult one for Deschamps. Coman scored his first two goals of the season in Bayern Munich’s home match against SC Freiburg (3-0) on Sunday. Dembélé has not yet scored a goal for Paris Saint-Germain in the competition. “No matter who starts, the danger for the opponent remains great. The other can come in after an hour of play and bring more freshness,” said Deschamps, who is almost certain of a place at the European Championship with France. The French lead in group B with 15 points from five matches. The Netherlands follows with 9 points from four games.
This is the position in the Dutch group for the European Championship qualification
Listen to all our football podcasts here
Free unlimited access to Showbytes? Which can!
Log in or create an account and never miss anything from the stars.