France's next star? Camavinga set for Les Bleus debut at 17

Judo's loss is French soccer's gain. Eduardo Camavinga is w country's biggest talent since Kylian Mbappé's sensational emergence at Monaco in 2016.

Mbappé helped France win 2018 World Cup, recently played in Champions League final with Paris Saint-Germain and is world rewned at of 21.

Many think 17-year-old Camavinga could have a similar future.

“Kylian’s placed bar very high,” Camavinga said. “But it’s a source of inspiration for all young players.”

first step for Rennes midfielder is to make his France debut, which could come against Sweden in Nations League on Saturday.

“Yes, it would be a dream. A childhood dream, even though I’m still a kid,” a smiling Camavinga said at France's Clairefontaine training camp. “Representing your country is huge. My parents had ir hearts set on it, and so did I.”

He was called up because Manchester United star Paul Pogba withdrew after testing positive to coronavirus . Camavinga's idol growing up just happened to be Pogba, and he is using United midfielder's room at Clairefontaine.

His path could have taken a completely different direction, however.

“In beginning I didn't want to play football, I wanted to take up judo,” Camavinga said. “Because my bror did judo and I wanted to do same as him.”

But he soon took up soccer at school, and his rapid rise has been such that coach Didier Deschamps even thinks Camavinga might feature at next year's European Championship.

“When coach believes in you it’s reassuring,” Camavinga said. “I’m t feeling stressed or under pressure.”

Like Mbappé did as a teen , Camavinga burst onto scene.

An astonishing performance against PSG last year — d just 16 — saw him set up a goal with a superbly weighted long pass and make several electric bursts through middle. A PSG side packed with internationals was powerless to stop him.

Camavinga pledges t to get carried away.

“, because I kw where I’ve come from and if I mess up my parents will let me kw about it,” he said. “y’re with me every day, since I still live at home.”

He was born in Angola, moved to France when he was 2 years old and obtained nationality last year. He was spotted by Rennes at of 9 and given his debut at 16 by coach Julien Stéphan — son of France's assistant coach Guy Stéphan.

Rennes has second-best scouting network in France and fifth-best in Europe, according to a study in 2019. study, based on minutes played in Europe's five major leagues by academy-raised players, listed best as Barcelona, Real Madrid, Lyon, Man United and Rennes.

Barcelona's Ousmane Dembélé came through Brittany club before joining Borussia Dortmund. Barcelona n bought him for €105 million ($126 million) plus a reported €40 million ($48 million) in bonuses, making him world's sixth-most expensive player along with Pogba.

Camavinga could soon be worth more. teenr combines a strong physique with devastating acceleration on ball that allows him to carve through midfield. He has ability to drag ball back and pirouette in one swift motion, reminiscent of Zinedine Zidane’s virtuoso technique against Brazil at 2006 World Cup. And he can dribble with eir foot, although he shoots better with his left.

He is versatile as well as he can play a holding role, but dovetails well at wide midfield or as a play maker.

“Even though you always have to be cautious talking about a 17-year-old player, I don’t see any weak points,” Guy Stéphan said.

Veteran striker Olivier Giroud, who has 39 goals in 97 games for France, is nearly twice Camavinga's but has been impressed with teenr.

“Eduardo's astounded us with his maturity,” Giroud said. “It's start of a long adventure.”

Im credits: AP