Almost 3 years after his last goal with France, Tikus is back to scoring with Deschamps’ national team. This is why it is also a positive sign for Chivu
Who knows: maybe Marcus Thuram’s sense of smell is so powerful as to overcome even 6,300 kilometres, smelling that probably upon his return from the USA after the national break he would not have started the Inter-Roma Easter match (considering Lautaro Martinez’s return from injury) and indeed he would have sat on the bench to cheer on Torino and Pio Esposito, who was decidedly in better shape than the Frenchman in the last period. So from the Northwest Stadium in Landover – Maryland – Tikus sent one, or rather two, or rather three, in short a series of messages to Cristian Chivu. The first? A goal that with Deschamps’ selection was even missing from the comfortable 14-0 achieved in Gibraltar. Second: the interruption of a fast which in the national team had now reached the monstrous figure of 862 days, from November 2023. Third: an assist, confirming how Thuram knows how to both make an impact in front of goal and build for his teammates as often happens in Serie A too, despite the difficulties of recent times. Fourth: when Tikus scores for the national team, he then becomes decisive again in Italy, and it has already happened right after the scratch in Gibraltar with 3 goals and 1 assist in the next 6 games with Inter. And then there is the fifth message, which turns into a tactical question.
true nine
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In the consolidated Nerazzurri 3-5-2, Thuram works in tandem with a teammate. This year he did it in turns with Lautaro, Esposito and Bonny, in previous seasons instead with the various Taremi, Arnautovic, Correa, Sanchez. The Frenchman gives the team an almost singular flexibility within the Inter group, being able to play as a pure striker, behind the striker, even as a winger. But to find himself, in this case with France, Thuram went back to his origins: central striker, pure nine inside a 4-2-3-1 built on a top-quality attacking midfield (Akliouche-Cherki-Doue). The solution is not viable for Inter, who have been used to playing with two complementary attackers for years like ThuLa today or LuLa yesterday, but in the meantime it has worked to allow Thuram to rediscover that incisiveness in front of goal that has been lost for too long in the league. Deschamps smiled as he celebrated his 9. And Chivu hopes to be able to do it again very soon. Maybe already at the end of this week, maybe from the bench, maybe from 9.
