French Pundit Slams Guendouzi’s Performance in Nations League Defeat

Intervening in Rothen s’enflamme, the RMC consultant did not mince words to deplore the poor performance delivered by Guendouzi on Thursday against Croatia (0-2) in the first quarter-final of the Nations League. According to Larqué, the young player of Moroccan origin did not shine in his second consecutive start with the Blues. A performance that does not seem to surprise him, given the "average level" of the former Olympique de Marseille (OM) player.

Jean-Michel Larqué expressed his surprise at Didier Deschamps’ choice to start Guendouzi for the second consecutive time, to animate the midfield alongside Adrien Rabiot and Aurélien Tchouaméni. "From an average player at OM, we make him a starter - for two games - in the French national team. I have nothing against him personally, it’s just an observation. I don’t have anyone else to put in his place either," criticized Larqué.

The RMC consultant recalled that Pablo Longoria and Igor Tudor had sidelined the player from the Marseille squad due to his "average" level, which had led to his transfer to Lazio Rome in the summer of 2023. "But tell me what his strong point is? Is he powerful? No. Fast? No. Does he have a good shot? No. Good heading? No. He’s average everywhere. Yet in the French national team, at least have a strong point!"

For Larqué, Mattéo Guendouzi is not the talent capable of "getting the French national team out of the rut." This is evidenced by his statistics: in the 84 minutes of play before his replacement by Manu Koné, the player of Moroccan origin "touched 70 balls and made 4.5 forward passes!" "Yesterday (Thursday), we had to wait until the 73rd minute for him to give a (forward) ball to Barcola. 73 minutes! It’s depressing."