Kante runs for his team and never stops. Every soccer team needs a player like Kante and every team wishes they had someone like Kante on their team.
If you watch France play Kante jumps out at you because you’re thinking who is this player who is everywhere on the soccer pitch. Kante just pops up all over the field. He’s in the attack helping support players and then he’s in the defensive third winning the soccer ball. And you won’t see him out of breath.
A well known meme holds true about Kante’s endless running on the soccer field: “70% of the planet is covered by water and the rest by Kanté”.
Check out Kante running back to win the ball for France in the 84th minute versus Austria in the UEFA Euro 2024 tournament. The video below jumps right to Kante running back to win the ball. As Ian Darke said on the broadcast, Kante covers every blade of grass!
Back with France after three years away, due in large part to injuries, Kante won man of the match award versus Austria. At 33 years of age Kante still can play football. That is clear.
Some say he’s well rested and this will help France do well in the Euro tournament. Others say since he has been playing in the heat in Saudi Arabia, he’ll feel that much more comfortable playing in the cooler weather of Germany. If you turn on a match for France one thing you’ll see is Kante running.
But overall, with all the skilled and talented players France have in their side, it is a luxury to have someone like Kante, who does all the running and hard work for the team. France, in all likelihood, will win the Euro 2024 tournament because of Kylian Mbappé and Antoine Griezmann and Théo Hernandez but mainly because of Kante.
Former Leicester City manager Ranieri said this about Kante: “Kante was running so hard that I thought he must have a pack full of batteries hidden in his shorts. He never stopped running in training. I tell him, ‘One day, I’m going to see you cross the ball, and then finish the cross with a header yourself’. He’s unbelievable.”
Famously, one time Kanye was late to France’s training camp. He said sorry the train was late. France’s manager said, “Just run. You’re faster than the train”. Not sure if this is really true and all, but it does show how much Kante is known for his tireless running.
French forward Marcus Thuram said this about Kante:
“As soon as we have him on our team, we win. He has reminded us in a week why he was one of the greatest midfielders in Europe.”
Wayne Rooney: “France has the best team player in N’Golo Kanté. He knows how to do everything: press, position himself and play in the intervals, break up opposing actions and project himself into attack.”
N’Golo Kanté in his first major international tournament appearance in over three years for France:
- 2 chances created
- 3 tackles
- 1 last-man tackle
- 2 interceptions
- 6 ball recoveries
- 5 ground duels won
A MOTM performance by Kante versus Austria.
In the end, I don’t think you can really call Kante a defensive midfielder. He’s much more than that.
Kante running for 90 minutes needs a new name to define his role.
In the past, you might have had a player who did all the hard work on the soccer pitch. However, he wasn’t skilled like Kante is. Who can dribble, pass, and control the ball when needed. And of course Kante never stops running and smiling.
