Saint-Denis (AFP)

Between the rising star Eduardo Camavinga, "little dancer" full of confidence, and Paul Pogba, world champion finally back with the Blues, there is a ten-year gap but above all a mutual admiration which gives new life to the group tricolor.

If the two midfielders met at Château de Clairefontaine on Monday for the first time, their joint adventure had already been tied in September.

At 17, "Cama" had lived his international baptism thanks to the package of Pogba, 27, tested positive for Covid-19.

"I have Paul Pogba's room. It's big eh!", Smiled the Stade Rennes prodigy, when asked what had impressed him the most in the Blues house.

On the field, he had also nabbed his N.6 against Croatia (4-2), which had completed to bind the master and the student.

"I am inspired by Paul Pogba, he is a very good player with very good qualities", he said before his first appearance, while rejecting any "comparisons" on their game. "I prefer to be inspired by people".

On this level too, the two new accomplices do not have to force themselves to find common points.

"He reminds me a little of myself, he is not shy, he is confident. He is a very good kid, I like a lot," slipped the world champion Manchester United, asked Thursday about his youngster teammate.

- Sitting at the same table -

From the top of his 70 caps, Pogba admires the ease with which Camavinga slips into his new international clothes.

The former Juventus player Turin made his debut in the bantamweight jersey in March 2013, a week after blowing his 20 candles.

"Like anyone else, he is very comfortable, he's a little dancer", noted the "Pioche", an expert in the nickname who has already given the Rennais a new nickname: "Bolo", for his love of Pasta Bolognese.

At the Château de Clairefontaine, where the Blues are spread over three different tables when eating (a precaution linked to the new coronavirus), Camavinga also shares his meal with Pogba, in addition to Houssem Aouar and Kylian Mbappé.

At his side, the Mancunien enjoys as much as seeing him play.

"He's young, but it's like Kylian, + you don't talk to me about age! + They have a serenity, a maturity that I didn't have at that age. To be so comfortable is very good, it's a talent, ”he said.

Before receiving Portugal, Sunday (8:45 p.m.) at the Stade de France in the League of Nations, the two midfield nuggets were never associated by Didier Deschamps.

The coach released Camavinga on time Wednesday against Ukraine (7-1) to bring in Pogba, back with the Blues after sixteen months of absence.

The former Le Havre has multiplied the disappointments in recent months.

Having had an ankle surgery, the English patient cheated at the peak of the pandemic when football was at a standstill, before his comeback in selection was delayed last month because of a positive test.

Meanwhile, the life of the Blues continued without him and the competition has filled the void.

But Pogba, not at the top with Manchester United, does not seem troubled by the situation.

"It's always good to have quality players all around, we have goals and we need more than 11 players to win," he said Thursday.

"I had been the holder for years, but the choices of the coach I will always respect," he said, oscillating between the past and the future.

The near future is Sunday against Cristiano Ronaldo and his reigning European champions.

Four years after the Euro-2016 final, Pogba has a revenge to take, with or without Camavinga.

© 2020 AFP