The 22-year-old’s performances for Stuttgart were so impressive that he forced his way into Didier Deschamps’ thinking, making his senior debut in November 2017 before being named in France’s 23-man squad in May. With fellow right-back Djibril Sidibe reportedly suffering with a knee injury, Pavard could even find himself starting their Group C opener with Australia on Saturday.
Pavard was one of just 10 men to play every single minute of the Bundesliga campaign, even Scoring his maiden goal against freiburg. Highly versatile – capable of playing at centre-back, right-back or in midfield – the fledgling France international helped Stuttgart to the second-best defensive record in the Bundesliga, behind champions Bayern. He is also a useful attacking outlet, and could end up being one of Les Bleus‘ surprise packages as they try to improve on a quarter-final exit to Germany in 2014.