Back in 2018, as France won the World Cup with two men in their mid-twenties at centre-back, there was every reason to believe the same pairing could be in the middle four-and-a-half years later.
In the end, those predicting such an outcome would end up being half-right, with Raphael Varane remaining in the middle to help Les Bleus get within a game of back-to-back titles. However, it's been a different story for the man who served as his partner in Russia, Samuel Umtiti.
Like Varane, Umtiti has not been playing for a big-hitter in Spain this season. While Varane remains a starter for a high-profile club thanks to his move to Manchester United, though, Umtiti has seen his career move in a very different direction.
France were dealt a blow in the lead-up to the World Cup when Presnel Kimpembe, a member of the 2018 squad and Les Bleus' captain for two UEFA Nations League games in June, was ruled out through injury. Then-uncapped Monaco youngster Axel Disasi was chosen as his replacement, making his debut in the group stage game against Tunisia, and Umtiti wasn't even in the conversation.
Four-and-a-half years can be a long time in football - many of Germany's 2014 World Cup winners were out of the picture by 2018, for example - but Umtiti should have been around his peak as a central defender. He had scored the winner against Belgium which took France to the final in 2018, and had played 25 times in La Liga the previous season as Barcelona won a domestic double. However, he has played just 61 games for club and country in the 53 months since becoming a world champion.
"Umtiti is central to the way France play – not only with his aerial threat at set-pieces but with his laser-like passing from the back which quickly turns defence into attack for [Didier] Deschamps side," Steve Bates wrote after the Belgium semi-final. A Manchester United move had been mooted at the time, but - while Varane continues to impress at Old Trafford - Umtiti finds himself in a Serie A relegation battle with Lecce.
Where did it go wrong for Umtiti? Have your say in the comments section.
Umtiti's last France appearance came in June 2019, in a Euro 2020 qualifying defeat by Turkey. Six of the starters from that game have played in Qatar, and it would be seven but for Paul Pogba's injury, while two others - Moussa Sissoko and Blaise Matuidi - are well into their thirties.
The remaining two, Umtiti and Lucas Digne, were part of that 2017-18 Barcelona squad. However, while Digne has continued to drift in and out of Deschamps' thoughts since leaving Camp Nou for the Premier League, his former colleague is very much in international exile.
His fall from grace at club level has also been a factor, of course. Clement Lenglet started more games than his compatriot after joining in 2018, while Ronald Araujo arrived the following year and has also bumped Umtiti down the queue.
Injuries have been a factor, with Umtiti unavailable for more than 80 Barca games since the World Cup, according to Transfermarkt. Even when fit, though, the former Lyon man remained on the fringes under Quique Setien and Ronald Koeman, but stayed put despite efforts from Barcelona to get him off the books and remains under contract with Xavi at the helm.
As financial problems plagued Barca in 2021, efforts were reportedly made to get him to leave as a free agent. That didn't happen, though, with the Frenchman in no mood to walk away from the big-money extension he agreed to after the World Cup.
Eventually, in January 2022, player and club found a compromise, as Barca and Umtiti agreed to spread out payment over a greater number of years, allowing them to register new signing Ferran Torres. Umtiti would still receive his money, with a partial reduction of salary, while Barca would keep him on their books until 2026.
"FC Barcelona wishes to publicly express its gratitude to Samuel Umtiti for his willingness and the affection that he has demonstrated towards the club," a club statement at the time read. Later that month, Umtiti suffered a broken foot in training and the injury ensured a start against Osasuna in December 2021 was his only Barca outing that season.
He moved to Lecce on loan for the 2022-23 season, playing a handful of games in Serie A. While the glory of 2018 is still a long way away, the first-team football has clearly helped.
"In this moment of my life, it is important to play again, to feel valued and important in this team and to reach my goal with Lecce," he said after making his Serie A debut. "With the national team, I wrote beautiful pages of my career, but right now, I’m only thinking about Lecce and doing well with this shirt.
"The welcome I got was extraordinary. I was happy to share that moment with the fans, it gave me an incredible energy charge and I felt immediately considered. I now want to regain the form I had three years ago. My late return is due to the search for the best possible form, because I want to make an important contribution to this team."
When France kick off against Argentina on Sunday, Umtiti will be just another Frenchman supporting his country as they look to go back-to-back. While it feels a lifetime ago, though, no one should forget his important he was to the first of those triumphs.
