Did you know that fourteen of the French soccer players who played in the final match of the World are of African descent and that two of them are from that continent? Find out here who they are

This is the fact that everyone knows: the France National Team beat Croatia 4-2 and lifted the world champion trophy for the second time in its history after 20 years. But what some people probably do not know is that most of the gala roster was composed of African players, some born on that continent and others with parents from there. According to El Tiempo, two players were born outside of France: defender Samuel Umtiti, who is from Cameroon, and goalkeeper Steve Mandanda, who was born in Congo.

Leer en español. Todavía celebramos el triunfo de Francia: Estos son los jugadores africanos que lo hicieron posible

Another fourteen players from the blue team are children of immigrants, reports the newspaper As. Among them are Kylian Mbappé, whose father is from Cameroon while his mother is from Algeria; N'Golo Kanté, whose parents are natives of Mali; and Paul Pogba, whose father was born in Guinea.

For many years, France has had in Africa or in the African-descent players a safe way out. The same thing happened in the orbital event of 1998, year in which 'L'Equipe' not only hosted the FIFA World Cup but was also crowned world champion. La República of Peru explains that in that team stood out players like Zinedine Zidane, whose parents are from Algeria, or Patrick Vieira, who was born in Senegal.

You can also read: The real numbers of immigration in 2017

The helmsman of this great generation is Didier Deschamps, who in that World Cup of 1998 was a player of the France National Team and today celebrates the victory of the blue team from the technical line. The strategist was harshly criticized for having marginalized from 'L'equipe' men such as Karim Benzema, Franck Ribéry, and Samir Nasri; as well as for not having brought to Russia Anthony Martial, Manchester United's top scorer.

But today they all agree and support him for having led the generational change of 'Les Bleus'. Now that he has the word, Deschamps took the opportunity to nominate Mbappé and Griezmann as possible winners of the Golden Ball, as reported by FutbolSapiens.

In the field of sports, France gives a lesson to the world on the issue of migration. A long time ago it opened the doors to people from the African continent and today celebrates a great sporting success. This is something that was already consolidating with this same generation since Euro 2016, an event in which it was the host country, despite losing in the final 1-0 against Portugal.

LatinAmerican Post | Yeinson Fajardo Bohórquez

Translated from "Todavía celebramos el triunfo de Francia: Estos son los jugadores africanos que lo hicieron posible"