This is taken from the GFFN 100, our leading 150-page FREE publication ranking the best 100 players in France, see the full list and read every profile right here.
The Monaco man’s absence from the World Cup will have been a talking point after Didier Deschamps’ squad announcement, not least once the France manager decided against even calling up a replacement after Karim Benzema’s withdrawal due to injury. Having already spurned the chance to play at the World Cup in 2018, Wissam Ben Yedder rejected Tunisia’s attempts to bring him into the fold multiple times, only to find himself on France’s standby list – it felt like an even bigger blow this time round.
Since his first senior call-up in 2018, back in his Sevilla days – the veteran has turned in an admittedly unimpressive record for Les Bleus, with just three goals in nineteen caps and just one strike in the last three years. Ben Yedder, though, may point to a lack of opportunities and the fact that the majority of his international appearances have been short cameos off the bench. Despite Les Bleus’ depth in terms of attacking options, very few of the new arrivals in the France squad will have been able to offer the same kind of experience and ingenuity as a Ben Yedder in full flow.
The former Toulouse man will have rightly thought that his 25 league goals last season, playing a crucial role in the Principality club’s incredible surge up the table after a disastrous opening half of the campaign, had him on track for a seat on the plane to Qatar. Having enjoyed a career-best campaign with 20 league goals in 2020/21, Ben Yedder went five better the following year. With 32 across all competitions, the 32-year-old was hitting his peak and was France’s best-performing domestic central striker.
It wasn’t the first late-season comeback Ben Yedder had been a part of, either. The Sarcelles native earned his move to the other side of the Pyrenees off the back of a 17-goal haul in Toulouse’s famous great escape from relegation in 2015/16. His three-year spell at Sevilla then reached its apex in his final season, the only where he was an undisputed starter, as he hit 30 goals in all competitions.
That form continued in the south of France on his return to Ligue 1, and nearly landed his team a Champions League campaign. Although a late equaliser at Lens on the final day of the campaign last year saw Marseille pip them to a direct Champions League spot, a nine-game winning streak in the spring cemented Philippe Clement’s job after he took over at the turn of the year. Ben Yedder was crucial to that run, netting a goal a game. He would give his side the lead at the Stade Bollaert on the final day, but Ignatius Ganago had other ideas.
The Monégasque captain’s form, however, has decidedly trailed off as the team have replicated their middling start to last season, sitting outside of the European spots going into the international break, Ben Yedder himself has found the net six times, notching nine in all competitions, just ahead of fellow striker Breel Embolo’s seven. His highlight of an otherwise nondescript season so far was a hat-trick against Nantes in a 4-1 win that also saw him become the club’s top scorer in Ligue 1 this century, overtaking none other than Radamel Falcao.
The derby win over OGC Nice, for which he was left on the bench by Clement, ended in a scene that summed up the striker’s early-season frustration, as he threw his shirt off and stormed down the tunnel, before returning in a new top. Although his manager explained that he was simply going to the toilet, there was little doubt over Ben Yedder’s disappointment at not being subbed on, with his newly-arrived Swiss teammate being preferred.
The former futsal international broke onto the scene late on in his twenties, in a career path which has been marked by the same perseverance that makes him such an effective goalscorer. Technically proficient, but not to the detriment of his penalty area instincts, Ben Yedder is both catalyst and the finisher of many a Monégasque attack. For a player who’s been so often shunned by the limelight, Ben Yedder is very much capable of creating his own spark.
As his manager had explained, Ben Yedder was “disappointed” not to be called up, but was also aware that missing out on the World Cup was a possibility after his middling start to the campaign. Having missed out on the September internationals because of his early-season form, his chances were already dwindling months ago. The Nations League winner is now unlikely to ever appear in the tournament as he will be 36 by the time the next one kicks off, although, given how he bounced back from the disappointment of 2018, setting his sights on a place in the Euro 2024 would not be an unrealistic goal.
With the upper reaches of the Ligue 1 table increasingly competitive, and the sides at the bottom fighting for their lives in a season with four relegation spots, it’s unlikely that Monaco will replicate their spring renaissance of last year. With the motivation of a prospective World Cup squad spot now gone, the Monaco captain will need to dig deep to replicate the numbers he’d been posting up for the last two seasons.
A Europa League run, Monaco face Bayer Leverkusen in the play-off round, may well be the team’s last hope of salvaging their season. If there’s one player in the squad who thrives in adversity more than anyone, though, it’s Ben Yedder – the many times he’s looked to be down and out, a revival was never too far away. And with his contract expiring at the end of next season, it may well be the forward’s last stand on Le Rocher.
Raphaël Jucobin | GFFN
Click Here: cnc rapid prototyping