Contradanyc.com – The tight schedule ahead of the 2022 World Cup has made Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) coach Christophe Galtier very careful about the physicality of his players.
It’s natural for Galtier to act like that because many PSG players are the mainstay of several countries. They certainly hope that none of their players are injured while defending PSG with the rich club’s busy schedule. Moreover, the 2022 World Cup in Qatar is only 7 weeks from now.
The coach of the French national team, Didier Deschamps, for example, has asked PSG to rest Kylian Mbappe more often ahead of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The decision according to Deschamps is not only good for Les Bleus, but also for Mbappe himself, as he will be better prepared and avoid the threat of injury that could keep him from flying to Qatar.
Deschamps’ request is of course knowing PSG’s tight schedule, which still has 11 games to play, including nine in October alone, as the risk of injury is significantly higher.
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Of those 11 matches, four of them were Champions League matches against Benfica (12 and 22 October), Maccabi Haifa (22 October) and Juventus (3 November). PSG are also scheduled to face fellow Ligue 1 title challengers or the French League’s highest caste, Marseille on 17 October 2022.
The match against Marseille could be one that determines the competition for Ligue 1 champions this season. Kylian Mbappe also has the potential to be played by Galtier.
Fit Condition
Deschamps is aware of the importance of Kylian Mbappe for PSG. However, just like at PSG, Mbappe has also become a pillar player in the French national team. But he expects Mbappe to face the Qatar 2022 World Cup in a fit condition.
“I know he (Galtier) still wants to play Kylian,” said Deschamps, quoted by the Daily Mail.
But from time to time, to be able to breathe a little bit, to have less minutes played, it doesn’t disappoint.”
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Of the 11 matches that PSG have played this season in all competitions, Mbappe has been recorded for nine times for the team nicknamed Les Parisiens and has played the full six matches. Kylian Mbappe has also scored 10 goals for PSG this season.
Seven of these goals were scored in Ligue 1 and made him second in the Ligue 1 top scorer list. Mbappe is only one goal away from team-mate Neymar, who is in the top scorer of Ligue 1 2022-2023.
Noticed
According to Galtier, the fitness of PSG’s players is a matter of great concern with a series of consecutive matches. Starting with the Ligue 1 match against Nice this weekend.
PSG has a lot of players competing to play in the World Cup. Lionel Messi, Neymar Jr., Kylian Mbappe, Keylor Navas, Achraf Hakimi and Renato Sanches will certainly appear with their respective national teams.
Then there are some Spanish players such as Sergio Rico, Sergio Ramos, Carlos Soler, Fabian Ruiz and Pablo Sarabia will be vying for a place in Luis Enrique’s La Roja squad.
PSG themselves are so far unbeaten in their 11 matches in all competitions. A record 10 wins is a good start under Galtier’s leadership.
Injury Prone
That record could be threatened next month with a schedule of nine games in a month, including three of them in the Champions League.
An injury-prone situation for players, and with the kick-off of the World Cup approaching, not only the club is at a disadvantage in such a situation but also the national team of the player’s country.
A similar request, as conveyed by Deschamps, was also made by the Argentine Football Federation (AFA). They asked all European clubs that have members of their national team to give their members time off.
The AFA has reportedly given an official letter to European teams that have an Argentine national team player in their squad. As reported by La Albiceleste Talk, the AFA reportedly asked the club not to play Argentine players in their final match in November.
In addition to asking for rest for their national players, by not playing in the last match, the AFA also hopes that they can immediately join the Argentine national team.
The staff and coach of the Argentine national team itself is rumored to be heading to Qatar in mid-November. Where they will soon carry out centralized training to welcome the 2022 World Cup.
Argentina, who entered Group C along with Poland, Mexico and Saudi Arabia, became the strongest team to qualify from the group stage.
PSG with their extraordinary squad depth certainly has many options, and Galtier is easy to rotate to keep his main players fresh when leaving for Qatar to defend their respective national teams.
