France vs Argentina: 3 changes Didier Deschamps should make

#3 Bring on Florian Thauvin from the bench

Florian Thauvin

After having sealed qualification into the knockout stages with two narrow wins, France experimented with their squad in their final game against Denmark. Thus, Deschamps has already given an opportunity to 20 out of 23 players. One of the players he hasn’t played yet is the excellent Florian Thauvin.

The winger was one of the best players in Ligue 1 last season as he scored 22 goals and provided 11 assists as he led Marseille to 4th place in Ligue 1. The only players to match those numbers in Europe’s top 5 leagues were Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Mohammed Salah.

What makes Thauvin special is his creative ability. The Frenchman averaged 2.2 key passes per game (5th in Ligue), showcasing the type of industrious play that a rather stale French attack could use. Thauvin also averaged 3.4 dribbles per game, showing an ability to take on defenders.

Such performances would mean a starting role on most teams. Yet because of France’s multi-faceted attack (and Deschamps’ strange decisions), Thauvin still hasn’t played a single minute in the tournament.

That should change on Saturday if France are not leading in the second half. Thauvin has the ability to break down the brittle Argentine defence. Moreover, this would be an unexpected move from Deschamps and could help foil some of Argentina’s defensive preparations.

Over the past few weeks, Deschamps has made quite a few strange decisions (including playing defensive midfielder Blaise Matuidi as a left-winger) but against Argentina, he should keep it simple- drop Giroud, play Lemar and use Thauvin when necessary.