It was a neat description. As Raphaël Varane sat down to preview the World Cup semi-final on Wednesday against Morocco, it was put to him that he was a “historical soldier” for France, for Didier Deschamps, too. He, and three others – the captain, Hugo Lloris, Antoine Griezmann and Olivier Giroud.
Varane was very nearly not at this World Cup, one step from another final, two from another winner’s medal. Injured for Manchester United at Chelsea on 22 October, it had been touch and go, the 29-year-old initially fearing the worst. But he made it and one of the features of France’s campaign has been his assurance and leadership, his ability to draw on the experiences of previous tournaments – going back to his first; the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
