Saint-Denis (AFP)

This time it's the right one!

Left on the bench Saturday in Sweden, Eduardo Camavinga entered Tuesday on the lawn of the Stade de France and in the history of the Blues, becoming at 17 years and 9 months the first minor of the selection in more than a century.

"As soon as the coach puts you on the ground, you have to know how to perform well whether it's one minute, 10 minutes or 90 minutes," he said at the start of the rally.

He had thirty at the end of the match against Croatia, and he put them to good use with interceptions, overlaps and even a dry shot stopped by the goalkeeper (71st).

But whatever.

The Blues' guestbook will remember that it is in Saint-Denis, the eternal home of the kings of France, that the little prince of Stade Rennes honored his first cape, against the vice-world champions in the League of Nations.

History will not forget either that it was in a stadium empty of any spectator, health crisis requires.

But it is precisely the new coronavirus pandemic, catching up with Paul Pogba (tested positive for Covid-19) at the last moment, which opened the doors of the Blues to the young prodigy earlier than expected.

"It may be early, but he has a potential that will lead him to be an integral part of this team sooner or later," Didier Deschamps reacted by promising him playing time, a rare thing on the part of the coach.

At 17 years, 9 months and 29 days, Camavinga has therefore become the third youngest player in the history of the French team behind Julien Verbrugghe (16 years and 10 months in 1906) and Maurice Gastiger (17 years and 4 months in 1914).

And the very first, therefore, post-war.

Even Kylian Mbappé, the prodigy of Paris SG who became world champion before his 20s, did not break through the competitive walls of the France team before blowing out his 18 candles!

Camavinga is a special case.

Born in Angola of Congolese parents, raised from the age of two near Fougères (Ille-et-Vilaine) with his 5 brothers and sisters, the midfielder broke the stages as easily as he dribbled his opponents on the field.

- Mature and smiling -

In his first club of Fougères, where he spent four years, "he was a little more frail physically but technically, it was already above, it was already enormous", recalls for AFP Christophe Communier, a manager of the club that trained him in the under 13s.

Spotted by Rennes trainer Mathieu Le Scornet, this rap fan joined Stade Rennes, where his technical ease made him an exceptional element.

First Ligue 1 match at 16 years and 4 months, first goal eight months later, first participation in the Europa League in parallel ... A rise even faster than his naturalization process, finally obtained in the fall of 2019.

The young man (1.82 m and 68 kg) with a finely braided hair and a broad smile impresses with his maturity in the game and is already attracting the attention of the greatest European teams.

"He is impactful, he is destabilizing, he is confusing. He has these qualities for the very high level. What is happening to him is fantastic", noted his trainer in Brittany, Julien Stéphan a few days ago.

- "Bomb" impossible to defuse -

The coach of the French Espoirs Sylvain Ripoll, who was able to assess the young man only during one meeting, retains another element: "What is good with Eduardo is that it shines on the field and it shines in life, "admires the Breton to AFP, saluting" the humility "and the" joie de vivre "of the young international.

The captain of the world champions, Hugo Lloris, tells an anecdote: "In the bus or at the table, he waits for everyone to take a seat to be able to take an empty place," smiled the Blues goalkeeper on Friday.

Arrived without complex in Clairefontaine, Camavinga settled in the room of his model Paul Pogba, was awarded the No. 6 of "la Pioche" and dared to declaim the words of the song "Outro", rapper Ninho, as a hazing.

"No one can defuse my bomb," the song also says.

These words go well to the young man who still sees himself as "a child" and still lives with his parents.

Next goal?

Enter the world of adults.

For that, impossible to grill the stages: his 18th birthday is scheduled for November 10.

© 2020 AFP