Cross, 29, has no previous experience playing for a national team. It's not just Deschamps' national team, the late right-back hasn't even been selected for the U16 or U18 youth team.
What kind of story can overshadow the charm of the "Northern Derby"? Jonathan Cross did. France's friendly against South Africa came to the 88th minute when the national team's junior brother Cross was replaced by Nkunku, a full-back who played for Lens and won thunderous applause at the Moruvar Stadium. The stadium originally belonged to Lille, a mortal enemy of Lens in Ligue 1.
Cross, 29, has no previous experience playing for a national team. It's not just Deschamps' national team, the late right-back hasn't even been selected for the U16 or U18 youth team. Clos was named to the Blues squad this time thanks to the absence of Lyon captain Dubois and Real Madrid full-back Felan Mendizizi. Cross waited in the Lens dressing room for Deschamps to announce the big list, and the scene of crazy celebration with his teammates after waiting for his name has already swept the major media platforms.
Before Cross, the last Lens player to be selected for the French national team was Alou Diarra at the 2006 World Cup in Germany. He came off the bench in the final against Italy and moved to Lyon in the following summer window. Today, Diarra is the assistant coach of the Lens team, and he has witnessed Cross's soaring skyrocketing.
Born in Strasbourg, Cross started his football career in his hometown team. He played in the Strasbourg echelon for ten years, but was never selected for the first team: on the one hand, he was too thin in terms of the selection criteria for defenders; on the other hand, the young Cross was often late in training and was therefore considered to lack professionalism. Unwilling to give up his football career, Cross went to Vauban, another amateur team in the Strasbourg region, but the amateur team's meager remuneration could not even feed him. Cross had to work part-time, choosing to get up at four o'clock every morning to work as a delivery man.
The industrious Kroos climbed the ladder and, after moving to Germany's sixth division, finally got his first professional contract at the age of 24. In 2017, after a season in Ligue 1, Cross was given the opportunity to represent Rouen in Ligue 2. The good times did not last long, Rouen was eventually relegated in the season, but the highly motivated Cross was reluctant to go back to playing In Ligue 1, he went to distant Belarus for a trial, and happened to receive a call from Bielefeld. The Bundesliga team suffered a serious wave of injuries at that time, requiring Clos to come to the team that night to report, and Cross immediately bought a plane ticket.
In the lands of the North Rhine, Cross's offensive talent was awakened for the first time. He began to show his future housekeeping skills: crosses from the flanks, goals, assists. In two seasons, he scored eight goals and 11 assists in the Bundesliga, helping Bielefeld to promotion in the summer of 2020. Clos did not enjoy the qualification he had won for the team, and he chose to leave the Blue and White and return to France to join Lens.
In September 2020, Cross, who was about to celebrate his 28th birthday, finally made his personal debut in Ligue 1. He quickly won the team's main position with his performance, completed 3 goals and 6 assists in his debut season in Ligue 1, and was selected as the best team in the team newspaper at the end of the season. Countless Lens fans began to appeal on social media for Deschamps to bring Cross at the European Championship.
Cross and his teammates waited in the Lens locker room for Deschamps to announce the big list, and celebrated wildly with his teammates after waiting for his name.
The miracle didn't happen last summer, but Cross wasn't frustrated. This season, he has scored four goals in 28 league appearances and completed nine assists, second only to Messi, Mbappe and Rennes midfielder Brijo in the assists list, but he is a full-back. At present, Cross has surpassed Alexander Arnold, Theo Hernandez and Robertson as the most rewarding defender of the five leagues on the offensive end of the season.
Shortly before his selection for the national team, Cross had just scored a winning goal for the team in the Ligue 1 game against Angers in the ligue 1 game, first using a ghost cross to cause the opponent to be oolong, and then scoring the winning goal for the team. Lens's 3421 system coincides with deschamps' current testing in the national team, which gives Cross reason to expect more opportunities for the Gaul Rooster.
Cross came off the bench a few days ago against Côte d'Ivoire and made his first start of his national team career against South Africa. His performances won rave reviews from the French mainstream media and threatened giroud and Mbappe in the first and second halves, and if it weren't for the two strikers, Lens full-back could have scored at least one assist tonight.
When he first signed Cross, Lens sporting director Gisolfi told Le Parisien: "The trait that attracts us most to a player is his ambition to always look forward and always aim to surpass himself. Today, the most inspirational grassroots hero of French football has ushered in his own harvest moment as he approaches his old age.
Wen | Shen Tianhao
Edit | Peppery Soup