Kante, the ‘super miracle’ and beating heart of the France team

France have ambled out of Euro 2020’s Group of Death and into the knockout stage with underwhelming performances and an ominous serenity.

Some might call it complacency, the memory of having won the World Cup at a similar canter three years ago still fresh in the minds of many of Didier Deschamps’ players, but then it’s difficult to feel truly panicked by any on-pitch setbacks when you have N’Golo Kante in your team.

Deschamps has called him “a super miracle”; his international midfield partner Paul Pogba claims he is “the most beloved player in the history of football”.

The footballing reputation of Kante the person has been assured for some time but, remarkably, the legacy of Kante the footballer has even more room to grow. A French triumph at Wembley on July 11 would complete his collection of major international honours, further enhance a spectacular individual summer and push his claim to win this year’s Ballon d’Or to the verge of undeniable.

For that to happen, France need to take care of business four more times and justify their status as the most talented squad at the tournament. Kante will also need to dominate in a different context to the one that powered Chelsea’s remarkable Champions League final win; Thomas Tuchel revived the best version of Kante by re-focusing his impact on the right-hand side of the pitch as one half of his “double six” midfield pairing, while Deschamps deploys him centrally at the base of midfield.

France’s formation was fluid in the group stage, often appearing as a 4-4-2 diamond that became a 4-3-3 whenever Antoine Griezmann drifted out of his No 10 starting position to the right flank, while Kylian Mbappe peeled away to the left. The constant, however, was Kante operating as the deepest midfielder, tasked with shielding the back four as Claude Makelele once did, or Deschamps himself for the World Cup-winning side of 1998. It is, in short, the role people who never watched Kante properly believe he’s always played.

The below image shows Kante’s default position when France are out of possession. His positioning, anticipation and speed across the ground were vital in stifling Germany in Munich and securing a 1-0 win for his team in the first heavyweight clash of a loaded Group F. Here, he watches closely as Toni Kroos, having dropped into the German back line, prepares to shift the ball out towards Robin Gosens on the left…

…Gosens drives down the left touchline with the ball but when he looks up for a team-mate, the picture is not promising: Griezmann has tracked back to put him under direct pressure, while Kante has shifted across to block any possible pass to Kai Havertz and is also in position to quickly smother Thomas Muller, with the help of two team-mates, if the ball goes to him. Gosens is quick to check back and, without ever touching the ball, Kante has taken the momentum away from the attack.

On this occasion in the same game’s opening minutes, Kante has pushed a little higher to mark Ilkay Gundogan. Germany decide to build their possession down the right, with Mathias Ginter finding Joshua Kimmich. Muller is standing next to Lucas Hernandez…

…Kimmich advances down the line, and Kante realises that Muller has drifted away from Hernandez before anyone else does. He decides to leave Gundogan and is already on his way to Muller before Kimmich has played the pass inside…

…Muller receives the ball under severe pressure and Kante succeeds in poking it away from him, to the feet of Hernandez.

Later in the first half, Gundogan realises he is in a pocket of space as Mats Hummels surveys his options for a pass out of defence…

…Kante, however, is alert and as soon as Hummels shifts the ball to his right foot to play the pass, he closes the distance to Gundogan.

Gundogan’s pocket of space has vanished and after taking one touch backwards under pressure from Kante, he is forced to stretch to play the ball out to Antonio Rudiger on the left of Germany’s defence.

Kante made three successful tackles and five interceptions in the game, and his mere presence in front of the French centre-backs made it very difficult for Germany to even contemplate passing through the middle of the pitch.

On the other side of things, he also took his opportunities to get his team on the front foot with sharp, progressive passes and smartly-timed forward runs.

Here, he receives the ball in his usual starting position in front of his defence, with a simple pass around Muller to Pogba available – although Kroos is preparing to close the Manchester United midfielder down.

Rather than holding his position after playing the pass, Kante darts beyond Muller, into the space vacated by Kroos.

Pogba shifts the ball along to Griezmann, who sees the opportunity for a first-time pass into the feet of the man who initiated this move…

…Kante plays a quick one-two with Benjamin Pavard to get around Gundogan and, in a matter of seconds, has picked his way through the entire Germany midfield.

He recognises the pass that will slip Mbappe in on goal, but on this occasion Hummels reads the danger well and makes a crucial interception.

There were other examples of Kante’s more progressive midfield instincts against Germany, such as this first-time pass around the corner into the feet of Griezmann…

… as well as this chipped switch of play out to Karim Benzema on the right flank…

… and this first-time pass from an Mbappe knockdown, straight to the feet of Benzema in space.

Deschamps knows Kante is much more than a pure destroyer, even if his positioning in this France team might suggest otherwise.

“On the ball, he is so assured, but he is not going to be scoring so many goals — he’s not a player who has the ability to have key impact creatively as often as Pogba,” he explained. “He is able to be decisive in the offensive phase, but N’Golo is particularly efficient at recovery, he is very efficient at the construction of the game. It depends on the pattern of play — sometimes there is a certain freedom for him.”

Freedom is not a word that many would associate with Deschamps’ France.

They don’t always display the kind of verve befitting their overwhelming talent, but their self-assurance appears unshakeable.

That is no surprise; they have Kante, the ultimate safety net.

(Top photo: Alex Nicodim/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

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START FREE TRIAL France have ambled out of Euro 2020’s Group of Death and into the knockout stage with underwhelming performances and an ominous serenity.

Some might call it complacency, the memory of having won the World Cup at a similar canter three years ago still fresh in the minds of many of Didier Deschamps’ players, but then it’s difficult to feel truly panicked by any on-pitch setbacks when you have N’Golo Kante in your team.

Deschamps has called him “a super miracle”; his international midfield partner Paul Pogba claims he is “the most beloved player in the history of football”.

The footballing reputation of Kante the person has been assured for some time but, remarkably, the legacy of Kante the footballer has even more room to grow.