Adil Rami Is Under Most Pressure for France Following Cameroon Match

France got their final European Championship preparations off to a successful—although unconvincing—start on Monday with a 3-2 win over Cameroon at FC Nantes’ Stade de la Beaujoire.

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Paris Saint-Germain’s Blaise Matuidi, Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud and West Ham United’s Dimitri Payet got the goals for Les Bleus, who edged their African opponents thanks to a moment of free-kick magic from Payet late on.

Although it was a victory for Didier Deschamps’ men and the crowd in western France was clearly behind the players, it was an unconvincing performance from the French, and there are questions over the defence after a sloppy display at the back.

Speaking with journalists after the final whistle, the 1998 FIFA World Cup- and Euro 2000-winning captain admitted that there is room for improvement in the rearguard:

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Cameroon played in a new system with power and pace in midfield and up front. There are things we can improve defensively but this was our first match after a long period without competition for certain players. It was the first match that Adil Rami and Laurent Koscielny played together in a long time and we were up against a quality side. I wasn't expecting a perfect performance. In terms of positives, we scored three goals and had a lot of chances. Technically we can improve but the frame of mind is there. To win a competition, your defence is very important but the main thing is to score one more goal than your opponents. I don't want to stop the team from pushing up the pitch, even if that exposes the defence from time to time.

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Deschamps mentioned Sevilla’s Adil Rami and Arsenal’s Laurent Koscielny, and the French tactician was right to acknowledge that it was a far-from-ideal showing from the central-defensive pair.

Of all of the concerning performances in Nantes on Monday, Rami’s was by far the most pressing, as the 30-year-old looked woefully off the pace at international level.

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Making his first appearance with Les Bleus since June of 2013, it was not the best comeback, and Deschamps will not have been filled with confidence by his replacement for the injured Raphael Varane of Real Madrid.

Rami played a part in both Cameroon goals, failing to track FC Porto’s Vincent Aboubakar for the first and then misjudging his clearing header to allow Schalke 04’s Jean-Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting to score a second equaliser for Hugo Broos’ men.

Thankfully, another former Lille OSC star—Payet—spared Les Dogues’ ex-defensive bastion his blushes with a spectacular free-kick winner moments after the visitors had pulled level for a second time.

Speaking with Canal+ after the match, as reported by Goal’s Joe Wright, Rami admitted that his return to the international stage had been far from smooth:

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I thought I was timid. I know that I made mistakes. It's better to do it now than later. I'm getting to know the group. It's been a super difficult week for me at the end of a long season.

I'm calm in my head as, thanks to the team, we've won. It's a really positive point. Sometimes, I play big games and I lose. I learn from that and look at the bright side of things.

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Rami was not Deschamps’ first choice in defence for his 23-man squad for the tournament. In fact, the Sevilla man was not even a listed reserve, so it was something of a surprise when the man from Bastia leapfrogged Olympique Lyonnais’ Samuel Umtiti into the squad after Varane’s withdrawal.

However, looking a little closer at the 47-year-old’s selection, there is undeniable logic there—even if it initially appeared to be grossly unfair on Umtiti.

Rami is a right-footed central defender and is also capable of playing at right-back in an emergency, while Umtiti is a left-footer, and Deschamps initially had Barcelona’s versatile Jeremy Mathieu to call upon.

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The former already has international tournament experience, though, while the Lyon sensation does not.

Umtiti does now find himself in France’s final squad, but Rami or Manchester City’s Eliaquim Mangala is more likely to be Koscielny’s starting partner at the heart of the French defence.

Deschamps is likely to experiment with Mangala in Saturday’s friendly against Scotland at FC Metz’s Stade Saint-Symphorien, but between Rami, the former Porto man and Umtiti, the Sevilla star has more experience at this level.

Between them, Mangala and Umtiti do not even have 10 caps to their names, and all seven belong to the City man.

Considering how Deschamps’ selection policy has often been dictated by his preference for experience and his desire to avoid controversial characters, Rami appears to be more or less the obvious choice.

Despite Liverpool’s Mamadou Sakho—normally a France regular under Deschamps until a recent anti-doping violation—now being available for selection once again, the former Olympique de Marseille tactician resisted the temptation to recall the ex-Paris Saint-Germain youth prodigy.

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One of Rami or Mangala will be a starter alongside Koscielny when Les Bleus get the tournament underway against Romania at Stade de France on June 10. Although unlikely, it could even be both, but the most probable scenario is that one or the other will pair with the Arsenal man.

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Mangala’s strong form with City towards the end of the recent season—and an impressive performance against Scotland later this week—could influence Deschamps a little, but the chances are that the boss already has most of his ideal starting XI against Romania worked out.

With Rami, his experience is the overriding factor in his likely selection as Koscielny’s starting partner. Is that experience enough, though?

It was not enough to earn him a place in Deschamps’ squad until Varane, Mathieu and Sakho were unavailable, leading Rami to make some comments that he is now working hard to make up for.

Speaking with RMC Radio after learning that he was not in the initial France squad, as reported by ESPN FC’s Mark Rodden, the former Valencia CF man felt his coach was questioning his character:

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You have to ask Didier Deschamps the question about my absence. I was really disappointed by one thing. His talk about not taking the best players on the pitch, but the best players to form a squad.

I have the impression that he's insinuating that I'm not a good guy and that I'm a lout. If we're talking football, I don't see why I'm not at the Euros.

At a certain point, you have to take into account the statistics, the number of matches and the opponents that you've played against. I've taken on Barcelona, Real, Juventus, without talking about Valencia or Atletico Madrid.

I feel a little injustice because the criteria for being included in the French team are the same for everyone.

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After being recalled by Deschamps following Varane’s injury, though, Rami admitted to beIN Sports France (h/t ESPN FC’s Rodden) that he cleared the air with Les Bleus’ tactician:

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The goal for me was to return to the French team. The career choices were (made) in order to be able to return to the French team.

I found myself in front of the manager... He's restored my confidence.

I'm not going to say exactly what he said. But I know, and everything proves it, that the error was on my side.

I've always been forthright in what I say, but that doesn't mean I have the right to make mistakes. I take responsibility for my errors.

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With that episode behind him, Rami will have to work harder if he wants to regain Deschamps’ trust on the pitch. His poor performance against Cameroon has not helped his cause thus far.