There was less than a minute remaining when Yohan Cabaye was rumbled. He had played a part in creating two of France’s three goals against Honduras and looked like a man highly satisfied with his night’s work as he casually leaned back on the substitutes’ bench, wrapped his arms around Laurent Koscielny and Paul Pogba and stroked them both affectionately on the back of the head. Cabaye was lost in the moment until he looked up and realised that everyone in the stadium was watching him on the giant screen.
While Cabaye chuckled and Koscielny looked a little embarrassed, the reality is that nobody in Brazil would have batted an eyelid. As anyone who has spent time in this country will tell you, they are quite fond of a public display of affection. In fact, they can’t get enough of it, whether on the street, in a restaurant or anywhere else.
Whether some of that is rubbing off on Cabaye or not is unclear but the former Newcastle United midfielder was certainly entitled to be pleased with what he produced on the pitch during France’s opening game in Brazil. Operating as a deep‑lying midfielder, Cabaye made France tick, using the ball intelligently not only to start moves but also to deliver decisive passes when he ventured further forward.
His numbers were impressive. He made 78 passes during his 65 minutes on the pitch and all but three found a French shirt. One of his floated deliveries picked out Paul Pogba in the penalty area only for the Juventus midfielder to be barged over by Wilson Palacios, inviting Karim Benzema to convert from the spot. Another similar pass led to Benzema striking a post before Noel Valladares, the Honduras goalkeeper, nudged the ball over his goalline.
In other words, Cabaye was not merely going from side to side with the ball and off-loading it at the earliest opportunity to those with more ability or, to borrow Eric Cantona’s rather crude description of Didier Deschamps, the France manager, acting like “un porteur d’eau”.
While it is a relatively new way of playing for Cabaye, who has spent so much of his career further forward, it is easy to see the merits of deploying a gifted passer with a football brain in a position where he is going to be more involved and able to dictate play – Carlo Ancelotti had the same idea with Andre Pirlo at Milan.
Deschamps’s decision makes even more sense when the indefatigable Blaise Matuidi, who was unlucky not to score against Honduras, and the immensely talented Paul Pogba are operating just in front of Cabaye. That trio provide a bit of everything in the centre of the France midfield and seem to be developing a decent understanding.
“I’m gradually adapting to a position that I’ve not played all that often at club level,” Cabaye said last week. “I like being at the origin of our attacks and running hard to win the ball back. I enjoy the role, and Blaise, Paul and I continue to work together to improve and make things even more automatic between us.
“We get on well on the pitch. We’re able to find each other easily, and our jobs are clearly defined. I have a more defensive role than the other two; I stay in front of the defence and cover for the full-backs when they go forward. Another task of mine is to remind one of my fellow midfielders to either remain alongside me or to support the attack.
“They both like to get forward, so it’s the ideal arrangement. They finish off moves, score goals, get back quickly and regain possession. We communicate with each other brilliantly, and we’re not afraid to keep the ball between the three of us, interchanging in tight spaces to start off an attack.”
France, of course, have been blessed with some wonderful midfields in the past, from Le Carré Magique in the mid-80s – the Magic Square of Michel Platini, Jean Tigana, Alain Giresse and Luis Fernández – through to the team that won the World Cup in 1998 with Zinedine Zidane, Deschamps and Emmanuel Petit (Patrick Vieira was on the bench), which leaves the current generation with quite an act to follow.
How good Pogba, Cabaye and Matuidi can be as a triumvirate is impossible to say at this stage and it will take much more than a routine win over a limited Honduras team who played with 10 men for 47 minutes before that question can be properly answered.
One of the doubts might be whether they would be exposed defensively against better opponents. In terms of Pogba, the former Manchester United midfielder will need to demonstrate greater self-control than he did against Honduras, when Deschamps admitted the 21-year-old could easily have been sent off for retaliating in the face of provocation from Palacios.
All in all, though, it was an extremely positive start to the tournament for France and something to build upon. Benzema, in particular, looked like a player performing at the top of his game, while Antoine Griezmann, who scored 20 goals for Real Sociedad last season, and Mathieu Valbuena, the Marseille winger, both showed some nice touches on the flanks.
Behind them Cabaye was conducting operations. He has struggled to hold down a first-team place at Paris Saint-Germain since his £20m move from Newcastle in January, largely because of the performances of Italy’s Marco Verratti, but Sunday night provided a reminder of what the 28-year-old can contribute.
Not that everyone on Tyneside enjoyed the experience. “As a Newcastle fan, watching Cabaye is like seeing an ex-girlfriend who’s lost a stone and looks even better than when she dumped you,” Graeme Swann, the former England cricketer, tweeted.
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