Rice is shown by Tchouameni what a midfielder worth €100m looks like.
On Saturday against France, Aurelien Tchouameni scored a thunderbolt goal that was timed at an astounding 108 kilometers per hour.
That flash of genius demonstrated why many think Tchouameni will be the best number six in the world for the foreseeable future.
Tchouameni, who is just 22 years old, already performs at a high level despite having youthful physical attributes.
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Much was made of the rivalry between France’s Tchouameni and England’s Declan Rice in the lead-up to France’s 2-1 World Cup quarterfinal victory against England.
In actuality, Rice also played well. He displayed all of his usual grit and commitment while making seven recoveries and three interceptions.
Rice is without a doubt an extremely talented athlete. He diagnoses opponent assaults and open areas on the field with great accuracy, shields and screens the backline efficiently, and is a master tactician.
Rice lacks the technical and creative skills, the flashes of unrestrained brilliance, and usually the ability to run and control the game from the deep, which sets him apart from the very best central midfielders. His distribution and motions are sometimes too legible and straight-lined, and his passing is too safe. Additionally, he could never shoot long distances as Tchouameni did last night.
Some would argue that Rice’s duty is to destroy and that none of this is his responsibility. And there could be some truth to it. But in contemporary football, you need to be able to produce as well as demolish. Even at full-back, the era of defensive-minded specialists is passed.
And this has always been England’s center midfield issue. Excellent ballwinners and all-action box-to-box runners have traditionally been among their best attributes, but ballplayers, conductors, and playmakers are very uncommon. The latter kind of player is often the one that brings home the World Cup and European Championship.
