Aston Villa’s Lucas Digne played the full 90 minutes in France’s 2-0 win over Belgium in the UEFA Nations League tie on Monday. It was the left-back’s first appearance for the national team since June 2022.
The 31-year-old was initially left out of the squad for this month’s international break.
France manager Didier Deschamps called up the Aston Villa player after Real Madrid’s Ferland Mendy was forced to withdraw due to injury.
The former Everton man has been speaking to L’Equipe, where he shared his delight over the latest callup.
The outlet points out to Digne he featured in majority of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers. However, Deschamps didn’t include him in the squad for the trip to Qatar.
L’Equipe directly asked the fullback whether Les Bleus manager’s decision ‘affected’ him. Digne admitted he was also not pleased to be left out of the Euro 2024 squad.
“Of course I was. I had played three quarters of the matches before. It was a goal of mine to play at the World Cup, just as it was to play in the Euros. It’s all part of the ups and downs in the life of a top player. After all, to experience such disappointments means that I was at least eligible for a major tournament,” he said.
The Aston Villa man will be 33 years of age when the next World Cup kicks off in 2026. Digne wants to take things slowly, but insists he wants to prove his worth.
“Oh dear, all that is far away! I first plan for the next match and the next deadlines with my club. I already want to show that I have my place in this group,” Digne explained.
This clearly shows he’s determined to fight for his place in the national team. It won’t be easy and Digne will have to compete with Mendy, Theo Hernandez and Lucas Hernandez.
All of this can only be good for Aston Villa.
