Paris (AFP)

Between the world champions and the new shoots, "the demanding" Didier Deschamps constantly cultivates the seeds of a stimulating competition in the French team, well helped by the talent and the nerve of Eduardo Camavinga and his young companions who have the Euro in the lead.

The 51-year-old coach continues to conscientiously tear up the conservative image that stuck to his skin until recently, with tactical innovations and unprecedented invitations, as on Wednesday during the festival (7-1) in a friendly against the 'Ukraine.

In a new system, Camavinga, 17, scored for his first tenure in two games, Dayot Upamecano, 21, chained a third start in three matches, while Houssem Aouar and Mike Maignan had their international baptism at 22, respectively. and 25 years old.

With the OL midfielder and the Lille goalkeeper, no less than fifty-one players wore the rooster-struck jersey for the first time during Deschamps' mandate, which began in August 2012.

Statistics show how the Basque manages to ventilate his group, while keeping intact his obsession for winning.

Eight months from Euro-2020, postponed by one year because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the coach continues to expand his range to be ready on D-Day, when it will be necessary to decide between all the available talents .

- "No pass rights" -

"With my staff, we always follow about fifty players. There is no gratitude as we have been able to say, or privilege," he said to AFP in March 2019 about the twenty -three world champions.

"They have a common experience, but that's not why they have guarantees," he insisted.

Since the title of Moscow, the coach has often set aside Samuel Umtiti, Thomas Lemar, Djibril Sidibé or Benjamin Mendy, for example.

More recently, Blaise Matuidi moved away from the Blues by leaving Juventus Turin for Inter Miami in the less tough North American championship.

On the other hand, he tested a dozen plotters.

Among them, some have gained prominence such as Ferland Mendy, Léo Dubois and Clément Lenglet.

Others, like Tanguy Ndombélé, Alassane Pléa and Mattéo Guendouzi, have passed more stealthily.

In Upamecano, in whom he strongly believes, Deschamps offered another tenure against Ukraine in order to erase the mixed memory of September.

"Between hoping to be there and playing, it's not always easy. There are other defenders but he has very interesting potential," "DD" noted on Wednesday about a "very good defender in the duel. , who goes fast and has a technical ease "above the rest.

- Giroud's lesson -

As for the miner Camavinga, already comfortable in his international clothes, the boss of the Blues sent him to coal from the kickoff and was rewarded, with a good showdown and a first goal full of panache .

"If I make him play it is because I think he is capable of it. After that, it is up to him to show it on the field", repeated the coach in front of the press.

"He knows it well and you too, in the midfield there is a lot of competition. In relation to what he does, he is positioning himself. There is still some road ahead but he is capable of doing very, very beautiful things ", continued the former coach of OM, satisfied with the" good mix "on the ground between" the young and the more experienced ".

With this cocktail, Deschamps tests his young people and keeps his aging executives under pressure, forced to give the best of themselves to stay in the group.

At the time of being replaced by Wissam Ben Yedder, "Can you imagine that the coach reproached me for not having put the 3rd on the corner!", Laughed Wednesday Olivier Giroud, become at 34 years the second highest scorer of the history of the Blues by the grace of a double.

And the Chelsea striker to deliver the conclusion: "he is demanding with me as with all his players."

© 2020 AFP