N’Golo Kante: Former Chelsea Star Reacts After Winning Man of the Match Award in France vs Austria

N’Golo Kante: Former Chelsea Star Reacts After Winning Man of the Match Award in France vs Austria

Raphael Abiola
June 18, 2024 at 6:27 AM
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N'Golo Kanté logo
N. Kanté
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  • N'golo Kante rolled back the years as he impressed in France's 1-0 win over Austria in their opening games at the 2024 UEFA European Championship
  • The former Leicester City star was named the best player in the match after his incredible performance for Les Bleus in the absence of Aurelien Tchouameni
  • The 33-year-old also shared his views after receiving the Player of the Match award and commented on fans chanting his name in the stadium

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Former Chelsea midfielder, N'golo Kante, has commented on winning the Man of the Match in France's win over Austria in their opening fixture at the ongoing Euro 2024 in Germany.

The former Leicester City midfielder was a surprise inclusion in Didier Deschamps' squad for the tournament after being out of the national team set up close to three years.

Kante was named in the starting line-up ahead of Real Madrid duo Eduardo Camavinga and Aurelien Tchouameni, with some fans blaming the coach for that decision.

N'Golo Kante poses for a photo with the Player of the Match award after the UEFA EURO 2024 group stage match between Austria and France at Dusseldorf Arena on June 17, 2024. Photo: Michael Regan.
N'Golo Kante poses for a photo with the Player of the Match award after the UEFA EURO 2024 group stage match between Austria and France at Dusseldorf Arena on June 17, 2024. Photo: Michael Regan.
Source: Getty Images

The 33-year-old proved all doubters wrong as he produced a man-of-the-match performance against Ralf Ragnick's men on Monday, June 17, at the Merkur Spiel Arena.

According to football journalist Fabrizio Romano, Kante shared his thoughts after being named the best player in the match in an interview with TF1 after the game.

"Thanks, everyone! I'm delighted to be back, it's nice! I like to be with the national team.

The Al Ittihad midfielder also admitted that he loved it when the fans at the stadium were chanting his name.

"I loved it when the fans started chanting my name… Merci! Thank you," he added.

The World Cup winner is expected to retain the starting shirt in France's subsequent games in the competition with Tchouameni, who is still yet to be declared fit to play.

Kante earns praises from fans

Sports Brief earlier reported that Kante was hailed by fans after producing a late recovery tackle to stop Austria from getting an equaliser against France.

The former Chelsea raced from 40m back to stop the Austrian from a quick counter-attack after William Saliba miss timed his tackle.

Authors
Raphael Abiola photo
Raphael Abiola
Raphael Abiola is a Nigerian Sports Journalist with over five years of experience. He obtained a B.Tech degree in Computer Science from the Federal University of Technology, Akure, in 2015.