Sunday Oliseh says the World Cup cannot be won without a player like N’Golo Kante in the team.
Speaking to the Nation, Oliseh, who will be watching the tournament as one of FIFA’s technical experts, mentioned the importance of the Chelsea midfielder or those with similar skills to successful sides.
Kante has been the crux of numerous victorious squads in the past decade.
His move to Leicester City in 2015 eventually helped create arguably the greatest footballing fairy-tale as the Foxes went on to win the Premier League.
A year later, the France international was vital again to another top flight triumph, but this time in Chelsea colours following his £30m transfer from the King Power.
The Blues largely owe their miniature enforcer for capturing the Champions League in 2021.
He was named the man of the match in both semi-finals and the final.
Kante the key cog
It’s not just domestic achievements that Kante has been crucially involved in.
France lifted the last addition of the World Cup with ‘N’Golinho’ and Paul Pogba running the midfield.
However, Didier Deschamps will be without both halves of the duo that dominated in Russia.
Both Kante and Pogba have been ruled out of the competition in Qatar due to injury.
Deschamps has decent cover in the form of Aurelien Tchouameni, yet he does lack experience at major tournaments.
Tchouameni might not be a direct replacement for Kante, but he fits the same defensive midfield bracket as his compatriot.
A position that Oliseh claims must be appropriately filled, otherwise a country can kiss the World Cup goodbye.
“I personally think that no team can win the World Cup or a major international tournament without a solid defensive midfielder,” said the former Borussia Dortmund player.
“You saw it with France with Kante at the last World Cup, and how he delivered to them the World Cup. It goes way back. You are the umbrella of the defence. You shield the team.”
N’Golo and the other French fortresses
France have a pretty decent record when it comes to ‘the umbrella of the defence’.
Kante has served the role so well since the 2016 European Championship, where his nation reached the final.
Before that, Chelsea icon Claude Makelele.
Further back, Patrick Vieira.
Rewind a little further, Deschamps himself defended the back-line.
Fast forward to present day, and it’s Tchouameni’s task to tread the line of Kante and those others who have led the way.
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