France boss Didier Deschamps had a truly stunning array of talent at his disposal as he steered Les Bleus to World Cup glory in 2018, but his pool of world-class talents has grown since then, notably with Ligue 1 Uber Eats stars Eduardo Camavinga of Rennes and Houssem Aouar of Lyon throwing their names in the ring.

Stunner from Camavinga

Camavinga may still be just 17, but his excellent turn off the bench in Les Bleus' last outing - a 4-2 UEFA Nations League win over Croatia - earned him a starting spot at the Stade de France on Wednesday.

To say he rose to the occasion would be an understatement, his stunning over-head strike to open the scoring giving a glimpse of the technique, imagination, versatility and potential of the prodigy from Stade Rennais FC. When asked whether Camavinga will now be hard to leave out of his plans, Deschamps made it clear he is looking to set the youngster up for success.

"I have no particular urge to take him out of the squad. From the team, we'll see," explained the France boss, for whom the match was his 103rd in the dugout- the same number of matches he had with Les Bleus as a player. "I will manage his game time just as his club coach, Julien Stéphan, manages his game time. He's a young player who has a lot of qualities and skills. He is right there in the picture."

Aouar the alternative

Meanwhile it was a first cap for OL's Houssem Aouar, who missed out on making his France debut in September due to a bout of COVID-19. The attacking midfielder was handed a starting place by Deschamps and turned in a typically impressive performance in the playmaker's role behind strikers Olivier Giroud and Anthony Martial in an alternative 4-4-2 formation.

"Returning to this attacking triangle is always a promising option. It allows you to create danger. It's another system, different from what I did last month," said Deschamps, who had seen Antoine Griezmann struggling in a playmaking role in recent outings. "But I had announced it in September: I will take advantage until November to try out alternative to what we are used to."

Giroud does it in style

Meanwhile Olivier Giroud went close to bagging a hat-trick in his 100th match for France, honouring his special status as team captain with a stunning strike from the edge of the area to follow up on Camavinga's outlandish opener. A poacher's header from close range was next and he all but forced Vitaliy Mykolenko to head home the goal that had France 4-0 up at half-time.

"His first goal was fantastic. From where I was sitting, I could see the trajectory perfectly," beamed Deschamps. "I am very happy for Olivier, who has always been very important for Les Bleus. He is one of the players who started the adventure with me in 2012. He has always had this strength of character. Hats off to him. That's also why I gave him the armband tonight."

The next outing for France - who saw Corentin Tolisso, Kylian Mbappé and Griezmann fatten the scoreline in the second half - is at home to Portugal in the UEFA Nations League on Sunday and it's fair to say that Cristiano Ronaldo and co. will have their work cut out for them.