After their World Cup-winning summer, it probably doesn’t need spelling out just how good France are at the moment.
After a relatively lacklustre group stage, Les Bleus really kicked into gear during the knockout rounds in Russia, putting a combined 11 goals past Argentina, Uruguay, Belgium and Croatia.
And what was even more impressive about this feat was that it didn’t even seem like France actually hit top gear.
Upfront, Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann stole the show with eight goals between them, however, Didier Deschamps is anything but short of options at the top end of the pitch.
Here at Squawka, we’ve taken a look at six unique attacking trios that could line up for France in a show of ridiculous attacking depth.
1. Mbappe, Griezmann, Giroud
Kylian Mbappe: 22 caps, 8 goals
Antoine Griezmann: 61 caps, 24 goals
Olivier Giroud: 81 caps, 31 goals
Didier Deschamps’ go-to trio. Despite the fact that Blaise Matudi is often pictured as starting on the left, it was clear that he was more a partner to Pogba and Kanté during the World Cup-winning campaign and this a 4-3-3 shape is created.
Griezmann and Mbappé are encouraged to roam and create havoc behind the one sticking point – Deschamps love his target man and seems to always pick him when available – with the former creating chances for the latter with incisive through balls.
2. Coman, Dembélé, Lacazette
Kingsley Coman: 15 caps, 1 goal
Ousmane Dembele: 17 caps, 2 goals
Alexandre Lacazette: 16 caps, 3 goals
This set up involves all-out pace. With Kingsley Coman out on the right – his stronger foot – and Ousmane Dembele on the left – his more creative foot – this would give France direct width, while also allowing the option of Dembele cutting inside.
Alexandre Lacazette is a lethal finisher, quick enough to get in behind defences and is also skilled enough to drop off and link up play.
3. Fekir, Payet, Benzema
Nabil Fekir: 18 caps, 2 goals
Dimitri Payet: 37 caps, 8 goals
ST: Karim Benzema: 81 caps, 27 goals
The fact that Karim Benzema hasn’t played for France since his 2015 fall out with Didier Deschamps is both astonishing and testament to the depth that the squad has in that they haven’t missed him.
However, he is available for selection and in this particular front three, it is all about artistry on the ball. Payet and Fekir playing as inverted wingers allows them to show off their wonderful long-shot prowess when cutting inside.
Benzema can drop deep as a hold-up player, allowing the other two space to run inside, or stay high up the pitch as a poacher for their deliveries.
4. Martial, Thauvin, Ben Yedder
Anthony Martial: 18 caps, 1 goal
Florian Thauvin: 5 caps, 0 goals
Wissam Ben Yedder: 1 cap, 0 goals
This is a much more inexperienced trio, yet still high in quality.
Despite not always being in favour at Old Trafford, Anthony Martial has shown he has the ability to become a game-changer when cutting inside from the left. Thauvin is equally adept at drifting on from the opposite flank, scoring 26 goals for Marseille last season.
In the middle, Wissam Ben Yedder is happy to stay forward as a predatory striker or drop deep, feeding those around him.
5. Saint-Maximin, Lemar, Gameiro
Allan Saint-Maximin – 0 caps, 0 goals
Thomas Lemar – 13 caps, 3 goals
Kevin Gameiro – 13 caps, 3 goals
Allan Saint-Maximin is looking more-and-more ready to make the jump to the senior side, adding killer end product to his fabled dribbling ability. Having him on the right will provide width and pace, while the very talented Thomas Lemar can either stick to his wing or drift into central areas to pick up the ball and let his creative juices flow.
Kevin Gameiro has never truly set the world alight, but his pace in behind has seen him consistently reach double figures throughout his career.
6. Bamba, Augustin, Dembélé
Jonathan Bamba – 0 caps, 0 goals
Jean-Kévin Augustin – 0 caps, o goals
Moussa Dembele – 0 caps, 0 goals
None of this trio have been capped for the senior side just yet but, with all three finding the form to earn moves to bigger clubs, it is surely just a matter of time.
All three are capable of playing across the frontline, resulting in a fluid forward trio for the future. Dembélé and Bamba – now both in Ligue 1 – have played these particular roles alongside each other for the France U21s.
Augustin, meanwhile, was Kylian Mbappé’s partner in crime during the European U19 Championship in 2016. The RB Leipzig forward is quick and skilful enough to play out wide but is slowly becoming one of the deadliest forwards in the Bundesliga.
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So, there it is: six completely unique front threes that could all cause serious damage in the UEFA Nations League and beyond.
We could delve further into the national pool of emerging French talent but this half-dozen more than proves the point.
Didier Deschamps has an embarrassment of riches at his disposal… and this is just three positions.
Have another front three that you feel deserves a mention? Look at our for the article on Twitter and Facebook and be sure to reply with your trio.
The post We’ve made six unique front threes to prove France’s ridiculous attacking depth appeared first on Squawka News.
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