Lucas Da Cunha dazzles on France debut and reignites criticism of Deschamps

Lucas Da Cunha made an impression on his first appearance with the France team on Monday evening against Belgium, in a match won by a flash of brilliance in the 88th minute (0-1). The Como midfielder, started by Zinedine Zidane in a heavily rotated eleven, delivered what many observers described as a masterclass.

For this second match of the international window, Zidane had decided to make wholesale changes, with Maxence Lacroix the only outfield player retained. Andy Diouf, Jérémy Jacquet and Da Cunha were all earning their first France caps. While Diouf, deployed in a position that is not his natural role, showed some limitations, Jacquet and especially Da Cunha were commanding.

The former Rennes player, now at Como, strung together clean interventions, precise passes and intelligent movement, to the point of generating enthusiasm from supporters present and observers on social media. Many questioned the reasons for his absence from Didier Deschamps’ squads. The messages were cutting: “Deschamps and his staff should be ashamed”, “How did he miss Da Cunha”, “He preferred Tchouameni”.

Zidane himself did not hide his satisfaction after the match. “Da Cunha is not a discovery for me,” he said. “I am really very pleased with his performance. Moreover, it was not easy because it was his first selection. He comes into a group he doesn’t know. And ultimately, he played the way he usually does, the way I wanted him to: free. He plays like he does at his club, and he does it very well.”

The victory against Belgium, three days after a laboured success against Turkey (0-1), confirms that the transition to the new manager is accompanied by a renewal of the player pool. Da Cunha, for his part, has turned his debut into an argument difficult to ignore going forward.