As the final international games of 2020 beckon
The story of Aymeric Laporte’s international career is a mystery to say the least. Throughout this international break, the absence of one of the best players for the World Champions remains baffling.
The Manchester City man was born in France but enjoyed his football education in Spain with Bilbao, where his Basque origin qualified him to play for The Athletic Club.
His last appearance in France colours came in 2016 for the Under 21s, before a callup to the senior squad in 2017 which yielded no appearance.
After a botched intent to switch nationalities to La Roja. Laporte finally got a callup in 2019 which was quickly smothered by his ACL injury against Brighton which ruled him out for five months of last season, before Covid-19 changed the landscape completely.
He hasn’t received another invite since.
Hence, what’s next on the international scene for the best left-sided centre back in Europe? Who is due to miss out on the rescheduled Euro 2020.
At club level, Laporte is forging a solid pairing with new signing Rúben Dias for Manchester City. The pair have conceded only twice in four games together including the draw against Liverpool last weekend.
How good were these two together last night? 👏@ManCity | @Laporte | #ManCity pic.twitter.com/nbzxxcM2ec
— Marathonbet (@marathonbet) November 9, 2020
The Frenchman has made all the difference defensively for Pep Guardiola’s side since joining in 2018 as he brings balance and dynamism when defending or attacking. Without him, the Cityzens struggled last season as they watched Liverpool march to the title while they nursed fundamental issues in the backline.
The 26-year-old ideally should be pairing Real Madrid’s Raphaël Varane at the heart of Les Bleus defence but Dayot Upamecano continues to cement his place after making his debut in September. Instead, Laporte can’t get on the roll call ahead of Presnel Kimpembe, Clément Lenglet and Kurt Zouma having also missed out on the triumphant 2018 World Cup squad.
Pertinently, his glaring omission has been attributed to non-footballing reasons as a player of his quality should be a regular for one of the best national teams in the world. Indeed that might be set to change.
“I spoke with Didier Deschamps about coming back for Les Bleus, I am trying to show that I have the qualities to make the French national team,” he told Telefoot. “Certainly, making the Euros at the end of this season would be the best thing.”
It does look like Laporte’s international exile might end soon. However, to really get into the squad for the Euros he must fight for a place and eliminate the competition with his performances.
Perhaps he can make a difference for the World Champions. If judged solely on footballing terms.
