Aston Villa defender Lucas Digne could make France’s squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup at the last second following an injury to Olympique Marseille star Jonathan Clauss.
According to L’Equipe, the former Everton left-back has a shot of making Didier Deschamps’ 26-man World Cup squad following news that Clauss is a serious injury doubt for Qatar, with Digne now set to be named in the team which is announced later this evening.
Digne scored a sensational free-kick for Villa over the weekend in Unai Emery’s first match in charge of the Premier League side as the Frenchman was on the winning side of a 3-1 victory against Manchester United, with the defender now, unexpectedly, set to head out to the World Cup.
After missing out on the squad that travelled to Russia for the 2018 World Cup, making the team this time around will be a massive boost for Digne, who has had an unusual few months for both club and country despite some notable high points.
Digne was part of the France squad that won the 2020/21 UEFA Nations League, whilst the fullback has continued to establish himself as a key member of Villa’s first-team plans despite the change in manager this season from Steven Gerrard to Emery.
Indeed, Digne has shown that he has the quality to play at the highest level, and the fullback making France’s World Cup squad for this month’s competition in Qatar is nothing short of justified, with the 29-year-old likely to compete for the left-back position in Deschamps’ starting XI.
Digne making France’s World Cup squad is huge
France head to the World Cup hopeful of retaining their world championship title, yet for Digne, heading out to Qatar to compete in the competition for the first time is huge for the Villa fullback, who will no doubt be eager to impress on football’s biggest stage.
With no clear favourites for the competition, Digne has the potential to make a real name for himself in the Middle East with France. And with injury problems plaguing the squad, the Villa star could have a shot at playing a decent amount of minutes for Les Bleus.