The idea is gaining traction, but Manuel Amoros has issued a warning, as he revealed in L’Equipe. According to the former full-back, Warren Zaïre-Emery (19 years old), the Paris Saint-Germain midfielder, doesn’t yet meet all the requirements for the right-back position in the French national team, despite generally solid performances.
Amoros: “I would tend to say that he can’t be a starter for France in that position.”
“I would tend to say that he can’t be a starter for France in that position. I don’t mean to say that he’s playing badly, but he has some defensive issues. Since PSG is dominant, we don’t see them as much. He doesn’t cover enough, for example, when the ball is on the left wing. It’s a reflex that full-backs learn in the youth academy.” “
Amoros isn’t criticizing the player in general; he’s speaking the language of a specialist: the defensive reflexes of a full-back. His key point is coverage when the action develops on the opposite side: closing down space, getting back into position at the right time, protecting the far post area, and anticipating the switch of play before it happens.
At PSG, territorial dominance often reduces these long sequences where a full-back has to defend far from the ball, which can mask reading delays. With the French national team, where the opponent more often forces you to defend with nothing to cover, this kind of reflex becomes non-negotiable. The message is clear: Zaïre-Emery’s versatility is an asset, but the position demands a specific defensive grammar.”
