While Alexandre Lacazette can be a valuable asset for France coach Didier Deschamps, Bleus fans should not expect him to recreate his Ligue 1 scoring form for the national side.
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There aren’t too many—if any—players who have been as influential in Olympique Lyonnais’ title tilt this season as Lacazette.
The striker has scored 23 goals in 26 league appearances for Les Gones, and Hubert Fournier’s side find themselves in the midst of the race for the championship with only eight matches to play.
While it remains to be seen whether Lyon can lift the Ligue 1 crown, Lacazette looks a safe bet to win the division’s golden boot. The striker has flourished in OL’s 4-4-2 diamond formation, where he has been one of a front two—along with Nabil Fekir—supported by the intelligence, vision and creativity of Yohan Gourcuff at the pinnacle of the ‘lozenge’.
However, in his six France appearances to date, he has only managed one goal.
Partly, this is due to the formation Les Bleus employ.
Didier Deschamps typically favours a 4-3-3 formation, and while he sometimes shifts to a 4-2-3-1, either approach only leaves room for one centre forward—and that man, without question, will be Karim Benzema.
Lacazette, therefore, will have to content himself either with a place on the bench and a possible role as an impact substitute, or he will need to redefine himself in a wider position, operating as an inside forward.
Either way, France fans shouldn’t expect the OL man to recreate his superb Ligue 1 scoring form for the national side as long as Deschamps sticks to his favoured formations.