Why Kante is Still Crucial for France - Giroud

When we were both back at Chelsea after we had won the World Cup together with France in 2018, N'Golo Kante said to me, "Oli, I think I am going to retire from the national team."

I told him, 'no NG, look, you are top of the world. I can understand why you are saying this, but you need to carry on. You are too young to stop.'

That was eight years ago, and NG - which is what all his friends and team-mates call him - is still going for France, and is still a crucial player for Les Bleus.

He is 35 now, but as I say whenever I am asked about him being in in the France squad, NG is NG. You might have not seen him in the Premier League for a few years because he has been playing in Saudi Arabia and, since February for Fenerbahce in Turkey, but he has not changed.

Back in the day, if you were playing outside the top leagues in Europe, it might have meant Didier Deschamps would not pick you for France.

For example, Andre-Pierre Gignac was already in Mexico when he played in the Euro 2016 final, but Deschamps told him that if he stayed in a championship like that, and not at the best level in Europe, then he would not have the chance to come back into the national team.

Deschamps has evolved in his thinking since then, because he knows he needs to adapt, and a lot of those leagues are stronger now.

But he also used to still call up N'Golo when he was in Saudi Arabia because he knows that, as long as he is delivering his game, you can always count on him to bring what he does best.

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