The French team of 2018 is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most effective international squads assembled in recent history. The most attractive part of the squad was undoubtedly the blend of youth and experience in the attack, but France‘s defense turned out to be the real hero during the FIFA World Cup triumph that year. Former Barcelona man, Samuel Umtiti earned a lot of plaudits that campaign for displaying his defensive prowess.
Umtiti, 24 at the time, was one of the hottest prospects in soccer. The left-footed center-back, though, suffered a knee injury leading into the grand event, but the Frenchman was determined not to lose his place in Didier Deschamps’s squad. Along with Raphael Varane, Umtiti formed a rock-solid backline that conceded only six goals throughout the World Cup.
Samuel Umtiti’s greatest moment with the French National Team
The round-of-16 and the quarter-final stage in Russia during the 2018 FIFA World Cup saw France play out two highly challenging and demanding encounters against Argentina and Uruguay respectively. As the semi-final approached, Belgium was to be the next hurdle in the French mission, which promised to be a tight contest, with little scope for error.
In the 51ˢᵗ minute, Samuel Umtiti rose high to head in Antoine Griezmann’s corner past Thibaut Courtois. It was only the third goal in Umtiti’s international career and by far the most memorable one. Apart from the goal, Umtiti did not divert from his defensive duties with seven clearances, and two duels won. The goal proved to be enough to ensure Belgium’s first defeat in almost two years and also take France to the coveted World Cup final.
The downside of Umtiti’s sacrifice at the 2018 World Cup
France was eventually crowned the World Champions in 2018 with a 4-2 over Croatia in the final. The time following that win, however, saw Umtiti appear in just six more games for Les Bleus, with no hope for that number to increase. “Everyone knows that he was playing with an injury. No one should forget what he did with the selection because after that, he had some difficult years”, French captain, Kylian Mbappe was full of praise for his friend during the ongoing Euros.
Barcelona and Umtiti saw their relationship take an ugly turn in 2019, a time when injuries continued to plague Samuel Umtiti’s playing time. Finally, in 2022, Leece provided an escape to Umtiti, which was a necessary one-year stint for the Frenchman. Lille welcomed the once-national hero in 2023 but has also struggled with his recurring fitness woes. The future might look dire for Umtiti, but a few games on the trot can be useful for him to enjoy the twilight of his career on his own terms.