Bayer Leverkusen faces Bayern Munich this Sunday (5:30 p.m.) and can count on the former PSG, still very successful. He has just been called in blue, 15 months from Euro 2024.
When Karim Benzema had to give up the World Cup in Qatar, it was Marcus Thuram (4 caps) whom Didier Deschamps called to replace the Madrid player on the attacking front. Bis repeated when Christopher Nkunku was injured in training a few days before the start of the competition, the coach called on Randal Kolo Muani (2). This cascade of packages could have benefited Moussa Diaby (8), who waited in vain for his turn. Even players who play in his position like Kingsley Coman and Ousmane Dembélé, often plagued by physical problems, were on their feet and in great shape to compete in the World Cup.
Moussa Diaby. Baptiste Autissier
This absence may seem unfair for an element that has been on all the coach’s lists since Euro 2020. The only exception is the rally in September 2022, the last before the World Cup. A bad signal for the Bayer Leverkusen winger who knew his status in the Blues was still fragile. “The most difficult thing is to stay in the French team, not to get there. I make sure to stay there as long as possible. I will have to be on the list for the Nations League so why not dream then of being on the list for the World Cup” the 23-year-old told AFP in August 2022.
Because the adventure of the former Parisian with the Blues is for the moment quite contrasting. Framework of Hopes since 2019, he has had five rallies with the A since September 2021 for a total of 8 caps and 3 tenures. The first selection took place at La Meinau for a match against Bosnia-Herzegovina (1-1) where he entered extra time and his first appearance in Didier Deschamps’ starting XI came two months later during a trip to cold Helsinki (November 16, 2-0 victory). In the meantime, he gleans his first international title without playing with the Nations League 2021 won at the expense of Spain (2-1).
36.52km/h, 3rd fastest player in Bundesliga history
If Moussa Diaby is in the small papers of Didier Deschamps, it is that he performs in Germany and that his profile pleases him. The coach considers “that he can play on both sides, with this ability to have a very interesting volume and technical accuracy”. Since leaving PSG in the summer of 2019, he has acclimatized perfectly to the Bundesliga where the characteristics of the championship correspond to his qualities. Supersonic player, he was also flashed at 36.52 km / h this season, which makes him the third fastest player in the history of the Bundesliga, he shows maturity in his game. The native de Paris combines altruism and efficiency and his statistics bear witness to this: 46 goals and 41 assists in 157 games with the German club. In selection, however, his playing time remains sporadic.
An explosive profile that few players offer Didier Deschamps. The 1.70m winger, who had started the coach twice last June (draws against Croatia and Austria) did not really know how to seize this opportunity to score points. Silent with the Blues, he has a decisive pass to his credit, addressed to Kylian Mbappé in the demonstration against Kazakhstan 8-0 (in November 2021). Today, and before probably leaving Germany this summer for a transfer to a big European club, Moussa Diaby can count on the matches against the Netherlands and Ireland to definitely assert himself in the France team.
