Leny Yoro made an assured debut for France on Monday night, despite having managed just 22 minutes of Premier League football with Manchester United this season. The 20-year-old centre-back was a late call-up to Zinedine Zidane's senior squad following Ibrahima Konate's withdrawal, and he started against Belgium in Paris after Jeremy Jacquet's own withdrawal.
Yoro had been an unused substitute in France's previous matches against Turkey, Belgium and Italy before earning his first start. He impressed in a 4-1 win that leaves France well placed in their Nations League group, though his opportunity came about because of injuries to Konate and Jacquet and a suspension for Dayot Upamecano. If those players are fit next month, he could return to Under-21 duty.
Zidane praise and a strong performance
Zidane said Yoro had a "great game" on his debut, and the centre-back described the experience as "amazing". On Monday, Yoro completed 72 of his 78 passes, won all four ground duels and all five aerial duels, and a combination of seven interceptions and clearances was unsurpassed on either side.
The challenge now is to become a regular part of Zidane's 26-man squad for a national team with arguably the greatest depth in world football. To do that, Yoro needs to be playing more regularly for United.
Jacquet as a target and example
Yoro should look to Jacquet as both an example and a target. Jacquet, only four months older, is already first-choice at Liverpool following a £60million summer move, and is Virgil van Dijk's regular centre-back partner in Andoni Iraola's side. For as long as that continues and while Yoro battles for scraps at Old Trafford, the national team pecking order is unlikely to change.
Yoro and Jacquet have always been rated at a similar level in France's youth circles, with Yoro arguably a step ahead as teenagers. He has lost momentum due to injuries at United and struggles to force his way into the side since a £52million move from Lille in 2024.
Carrick urges patience
Harry Maguire and Lisandro Martinez are Michael Carrick's first-choice pairing, and Matthijs de Ligt offers more competition for the right-sided centre-back slot, but Yoro has the ceiling to surpass them all. Carrick pleaded patience with Yoro before the international break.
"He's 20, Leny, you know? And again, in context, he's got a fantastic future ahead of him and a lot of potential, and he's learning, he's developing," said Carrick. "To be at this club in place as a centre-back at such a young age, it's a challenging position. It's one that he can do for sure, it's one that Ayden can do for sure, but there's no cut-off point."
"Some players progress and find when they're 18, they're at that level where they can really perform. Some players, like Leny, showed he can perform. I've got no worries for Leny. I think he does a lot of really good things and it's part of learning. Sometimes it might be 20, sometimes you see players 22, 23, 24, where they start developing. So there's definitely no cut-off point. He's just got to keep progressing and moving in the right direction, wanting to learn, keep improving, getting more opportunities."
"He's doing a lot of good things, and I think we've got to be careful again, and I certainly won't [be] making knee-jerk decisions on certain players just because of one game or one half or one moment in a game, and we've got a lot of belief in Leny for sure."
Yoro should return to Carrington this week with a spring in his step, but he will know that if he wants to become a regular for France, playing more often for United is vital.
