France-Luxembourg: The Bleuets’ final poker move to keep Bouaddi away from Morocco

Faced with a wave of withdrawals for this Euro Espoirs qualifying match, the French team had to reinvent itself on Thursday evening in Differdange. In the midst of a largely revamped starting lineup with several newcomers, one strong choice particularly caught the eye: the appointment of Ayyoub Bouaddi as captain. This symbolic decision goes beyond the purely sporting framework, as the player is expected to opt for the Moroccan national team in the near future.

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For Gérald Baticle, the awarding of this armband is a real declaration of intent. Aware of his protégé’s ongoing reflection on his sporting nationality, the coach tries to value him as much as possible to influence his decision. The day before the match, the coach had also thrown his last forces into the battle by admitting in the press conference: "I sincerely hope that he will remain in blue because I love the player and I want to see him wear the blue jersey in the future."

On the field, this match, which could be the young player’s last with France before joining Morocco, went off without a hitch. Against a modest selection from the Grand Duchy, the French team sealed the match in less than twenty minutes. Nathan Zézé quickly opened the scoring from a corner, followed by a penalty from Steve Ngoura and a goal from Valentin Atangana, taking advantage of a goalkeeper’s mistake.

On Bladi.net: After Ouahbi’s speech, the cold shower: Bouaddi chooses (for now) France

Despite a drop in pace in the second half on a difficult pitch, marked by the injury-enforced substitution of Saïmon Bouabré and the Luxembourgish reduction of the score by Gonçalves, France controlled the match. The explosive entry of Rayan Fofana, who scored a brace at the end of the game, sealed this convincing victory. A victory that allows the Bleuets to consolidate their first place in the group, with the persistent hope that their captain for the day will not definitively fly away to other horizons.