France's victory over Belgium in the Nations League also left behind a minor issue involving Adrien Rabiot. The Milan midfielder came on only in the 88th minute, but according to RMC Sport in France, some moments before his introduction reportedly irritated Zinedine Zidane's staff.
Rabiot was reportedly called over from the bench to get ready to come on, but his warm-up was deemed too slow. Not only that: when it was time to speed up the substitution process, the midfielder had apparently still not got his boots ready, further delaying his introduction.
There is no rift, however. Once he came on, Rabiot was involved in the move that led to one of France's goals and, at the end of the match, Zidane approached the Milan midfielder to greet him and thank him for his contribution in the closing stages, as relayed via Milan Press.
“We need to move on from Rabiot”
The incident comes at a different moment for Rabiot with the national team compared with the past. Under Didier Deschamps, the midfielder had become one of the team's most experienced and consistent players, while under the new cycle led by Zidane, his playing time has so far been more limited.
Daniel Riolo, an RMC journalist, has also questioned his importance to the team, taking a rather firm position: "We need to move on from Rabiot, put Da Cunha in front of the defence and Camavinga as a box-to-box midfielder." The comments are inevitably set to spark debate in France. The next call-ups will help determine what Rabiot's role will really be in the new national-team cycle. At Milan, meanwhile, Amorim is awaiting the midfielder's return to Milanello ahead of the resumption of the league season against Sassuolo.
