Crowned European champions under 17 last summer, the French team will try to defend their title in Hungary from this Wednesday. If this tournament has already offered international renown to certain young French champions such as Warren Zaire-Emery, Saël Kumbedi, Désiré Doué or even Mathys Tel, others, older, had already experienced it even before their birth, like the 87 generation in 2004, towed by Hatem Ben Arfa, Karim Benzema and Samir Nasri.
Between these two coronations distanced by 18 years had also come the generation of 1998, titled in 2015, and without its most beautiful ambassador Kylian Mbappé. At the time, the Frenchman was far from essential in a team where Odsonne Edouard, Jonathan Ikoné, Jeff Reine-Adélaïde or even Bilal Boutobba gave them the feeling of flying. Today, however, fortunes are mixed in this promotion where some, like Dayot Upamecano, have become world references in their position, and where others, like Lorenzo Callegari, are struggling to take off like an albatross.
They confirmed at a very high level
Among the 18 European champions in 2015, Dayot Upamecano therefore took the straightest trajectory of the group. After experiencing the social mobility of the youth categories of the French team, from the U16s to the Espoirs, the defender of Bayern Munich established himself as a European reference in his position, before settling as a holder with the Blues. Best player and top scorer of Euro U17 with the Bleuts, Odsonne Edouard also confirmed at the highest level. After several seasons dotted with goals at Celtic Glasgow in Scotland, the player trained at PSG has been exported to England where he alternates between holder and substitute at Crystal Palace.
Son alter ego Jonathan Icon has made a name for himself in the French championship. Author of remarkable performances with Montpellier between 2016 and 2018, “York” subsequently joined the North and Lille where his regularity led him to release his first selection in Blues in September 2019. Champion of France with LOSC in 2021, the former Parisian titi has since joined Fiorentina in Italy where he is slowly taking its mark. To a lesser degree, Casserole Maouassa also confirmed in Ligue 1, first with his training club Nancy, then in Nîmes and Rennes, with whom he also discovered the Champions League. After a failure at Club Brugge last season, he has since relaunched in Hérault with Montpellier where he plays in a more attacking role and knows how to be decisive (4 goals, 5 assists).
They are slowly making their nest
Backing up to jump better is the formula that sums up the last two seasons of Luca Zidane. Craftsman of Rayo Vallecano’s rise in La Liga in 2021, the 24-year-old goalkeeper will have finally played only 8 games in the Spanish elite. Last summer, the youngest son of Zizou made the choice to backpedal to the lower level, in Eibar. A choice that is bearing fruit for the moment. Holder this season with the Armeros, 2nd in Segunda División, the goalkeeper trained at Real Madrid could return to La Liga next season with, perhaps, finally a starting status. Captain of the French team in 2015, Timothee Cognat he had left OL to join Servette (Switzerland) in 2018. Since then, he has had a string of quality seasons in a starter suit. Conversely, Jeff Reine-Adelaide he joined OL in 2019 from Angers, becoming the biggest purchase in the history of the Rhone club (€27m). If the love story had started at two hundred an hour, the former Gunners was then undermined by knee injuries. He is trying to get back to Troyes this season.
Considered one of the greatest hopes of this class of 98, Bilal Boutobba has had a more fluctuating trajectory. After failures in Seville and Montpellier, the native of Marseille was able to relaunch in Ligue 2, in Niort, where he has been chaining quality seasons for three years. In the Niortais slump, red lantern and condemned to the descent in National 1, the Franco-Algerian manages to pull out of the game and achieves his most prolific season (10 goals, 4 assists). He will be free this summer. Jean-Victor Makengo cut his teeth in Italy. After contrasting experiences in Nice and Toulouse, the midfielder trained in Caen was able to breathe new life into his career with Udinese. He returned to France this winter to take part in the ambitious Lorient project. Bradley Danger has established himself as a reference to his position in Ligue 2. Versatile and capable of playing both in front of the defense and as a central defender, the former Le Havre could have other ambitions than playing maintenance in the antechamber of French football.
They struggle to confirm at the highest level
Lining for Luca Zidane in 2015, Nicolas Kocik now evolves at Le Mans FC, in National 1. Returning to Sarthe last summer after a failure in his training club of Valenciennes, the 24-year-old goalkeeper manages to regain regularity and remains one of the rare thinnings in Le Mans this season . Trained at PSG and promised a bright future very young, Alec George et Lorenzo Callegari are struggling to confirm at the highest level. If the first has a season marked by success in Concarneau (National), where he has established himself as one of the best right-backs in the championship, he has previously chained unsuccessful experiences, first in Alkmaar then in Avranches and Auxerre to whom it still belongs. The second, left freely from PSG to join Genoa in 2018, chained defeats in Ternana, Avranches then Chambly. He joined the Halifax Wanderers (Canadian D1) this winter.
Stamped great hope of French football, Mamadou Doucoure he was just unlucky. Arrived at Borussia Mönchengladbach in 2016 from PSG, the native of Dakar suffered an avalanche of injuries, missing a total of more than 1,500 days of competition. In 2020, his club had still shown him a real mark of confidence by extending him, when he had never made any appearances in the first team. If he had some nice parentheses at Vitória Guimarães, Nicholas January is having a contrasting season with the current 6th in Liga Bwin. Essentially a substitute, the former great hope of Stade Rennais has his team’s 21st playing time. Maxime Pelican He is now evolving in Aubagne, in National 2, where he alternates between holder and substitute. As for Jordan Rambaud et Issa Samba, respectively formed in Toulouse and Auxerre, they vegetate in National 3, in Vertou in the Pays de la Loire League for the first, and in Drouais, in the Center-Val de Loire league for the second. Note that Samba has already honored 1 selection with Mauritania.
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