A quartet of veterans leads France’s World Cup charge
With more than 450 international caps between them, Hugo Lloris, Olivier Giroud, Antoine Griezmann and Raphaël Varane have provided the backbone of coach Didier Deschamps’ French squads for the past decade. The four veterans take on Leo Messi’s Argentina on Sunday, hoping to lead Les Bleus to consecutive World Cup titles.
A keeper, a defender, a midfielder and a striker: the quartet of players that has carried France to the World Cup final in Qatar is quite unlike the famous “Magic Square” led by Michel Platini in the 1980s. It is more like a robust spinal cord, the backbone of a team that bends but somehow never breaks.
Since coach Didier Deschamps took over the French squad in 2012, every successful tournament for Les Bleus – most notably their 2018 World Cup triumph in Russia – has rested on the same four players: Hugo Lloris, the captain and goalkeeper; Raphaël Varane, the centre-back; Antoine Griezmann, recently rebranded as a holding and creative midfielder; and old-fashioned striker Olivier Giroud.
“We’re lucky to have enjoyed this stability over the years,” Varane, at 29 the youngest of the four, told a press conference on Friday. “We know one another and how to work together. We try to pass on our experience to others and also give them a boost when needed.”
Between them, the four pillars of Deschamps’ squad count a staggering 471 international caps. They now average just under 33 years of age, but have only improved over the years, maturity making up for the slowing pace. It was their experience and resilience that saw France snatch victory in a hard-fought quarter-final when England appeared to have Les Bleus on the ropes.
Their talismanic role has earned…
