Youssouf Fofana has gone from serving pizzas to delivering crosses in the World Cup. Dropped in 2015 at age 14 from Clairefontaine, France바카라s national training center, his future in soccer seemed at an end. So he went to work for a pizzeria. (More Football News)
바카라That was the best way to earn money and also to follow my dreams,바카라 the 23-year-old midfielder said Thursday, two days before France meets England in a World Cup quarterfinal.
Fofana made his French national team debut in September and was picked by coach Didier Deschamps for the 26-man team that is defending Les Bleus바카라 World Cup title.
He entered as a second-half sub in the group stage wins over Australia and Denmark, started in the 1-0 loss to Tunisia, and played the last 25 minutes of the round of 16 victory over Poland.
Quite the turnaround for a player who needed two years to find a professional club. He played for Drancy, an amateur side in Paris바카라 northeast suburbs before signing with Strasbourg바카라s youth academy in 2017.
바카라I had my doubts, and you have to know how to move forward,바카라 he said through an interpreter.
He made his Ligue 1 debut against Lyon on Aug. 24, 2018, moved to Monaco in January 2020 and reached the Europa League with his new club in 2021-22 and the current season.
France, seeking its third World Cup title, would advance to a semifinal against Portugal or Morocco. The other side of the bracket will have the Argentina-Netherlands winner play Brazil or Croatia.
Les Blues are led by Kylian MbappĂ©, who leads the World Cup with five goals. England right back Kyle Walker has faced MbappĂ© and Paris Saint-Germain while playing for Manchester City in the Champions League and said Wednesday 바카라we take respect that he is a good player in good form at the minute, but I am not going to roll out a red carpet for him and tell him to go and score.바카라
Fofana seemed amused by that.
바카라Hats off to him.바카라 Fofana said. 바카라If he can stop Kylian, good for him. But there바카라s 19 other teams in the French league that are waiting for the answer of how to stop Kylian, and the truth is on the pitch.바카라
Fofana was in a jovial mood when discussing preparations. Asked about the frame of mind in the dressing room before World Cup kickoffs, he responded: 바카라The atmosphere is tense, tense, tense.바카라
바카라No, I바카라m joking,바카라 he went on. 바카라We can wear headphones, so if we don바카라t like the chosen music for the group, then we can listen to our own music.바카라
CLASS OF 바카라98
Defender Dayot Upamecano said he has spoken with Marcel Desailly, a defender on France바카라s 1998 world champion team.
바카라He바카라s given me some advice and I should continue doing what I바카라m doing,바카라 Upamecano said through an interpreter. 바카라It바카라s a real pleasure to be able to talk to someone like that. He was a winner. He was a warrior, a real example for the French.바카라
