The Qatar 2022 edition remained an open wound. Now Marcus wants to rewrite history, like his father Lilian did in 1998
With France he scored three goals in thirty-four appearances and since November 2023 with the Les Bleus shirt he has scored only one goal, the one against Colombia in the friendly match at the end of March. Yet for the balance of Deschamps’ team, Marcus Thuram is considered an important player. One of those who can change the match by coming off the bench. There is a lot of talent up front with Mbappé, Olise, Dembélé, Cherkì, Barcola and Doué, but Lilian’s son has shown that he knows how to do his job. The transfer to Inter, on a free transfer, in the summer of 2023 allowed him to win four trophies, including two league titles, and reach the Champions League final, which he then lost to PSG. In short, he has taken a step forward in terms of status, but to establish himself on the international stage he knows that he is still missing something. That is, a great victory. While waiting to try again with the Champions League next season with the Nerazzurri shirt, he now has a chance with France. He must forget the defeat on penalties in the final against Argentina, on 18 December 2022 in Qatar, a match that stayed with him because despite his assist for Mbappé’s second goal, in the end it was Messi and his teammates who celebrated.
in the name of the father
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Marcus had hoped to share this experience in the States together with his brother Khephren, who however was not called up by Deschamps. Among the attackers chosen by the Les Bleus coach, however, there is Lilian’s eldest son, who celebrated the World Cup in 1998 by beating Phenomenon Ronaldo’s Brazil in the final thanks to a double in the final by Zidane. Marcus finished second in 2022. Here the Thuram family is one of the few… World Cup families in the history of football. Translated, it is one of those families in which father and son have both played at least one World Cup. The Haaland (Alf-Inge was with Norway in the 1994 edition), the Simeones (Diego present with Argentina in 1994, 1998 and 2002; Simeone in this 2026 edition) and the Paz (Pablo participated in 1998 with Argentina, Nico… any day now) will also join the small circle. However, just to give some examples, the Americans Reyna (Claudio and Giovanni), the Dutch Blind (Danny and Daley), the Danes Schmeichel (Peter and Kasper), the Spaniards Alonso (Miguel Angel and Xabi) and of course the Maldinis (Cesare and Paolo Maldini: even together in 1998 as coach and player respectively) are already part of it. The Thurams hope to be the first to both lift a trophy. So they would be even more in the story.
tactical weapon
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Thuram in current France is not a starter either in the 4-3-3 or in the 4-2-3-1. But he knows how to do his job when he has another striker next to him (as in Inter with Lautaro), when he plays center forward or when he starts from the left, as happened in the last friendly against Northern Ireland. This could be precisely his role at the World Cup. Also because Theo Hernandez arrives in that lane and Marcus, by centralizing, can make room for him and try the shot. Many Inter fans remember his goal in the derby starting off-centre on the left. Now it is the France supporters who hope that he improves his statistics in the national team and that he has a summer as a protagonist. His Nerazzurri teammates will watch him, while Lautaro, a close friend, hopes to meet him in the final. ThuLa always together for one night would be opponents, like in 2022 in Doha. Thuram hopes for another result…
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