French press react to Leny Yoro after senior debut for France vs Belgium, bold point made

It has been an international break full of surprises for Man Utd, and Leny Yoro is the latest one to pleasantly surprise them.

A day after Joshua Zirkzee scored the winner for the Netherlands after not even being part of the squad initially, Leny Yoro made his France debut.

Yoro was thrown straight into the deep end against a tough opposition in Belgium, but he came through the test with flying colours.

The French press were in awe of how “ready” Yoro looked, and that sentiment was summed up in a single word that kept coming up.

The French are notoriously strict when it comes to judging their national team, so Yoro was up against it when he started against Belgium.

Romelu Lukaku was his direct opponent, who is a handful for defenders, and exactly the kind of physical profile he has struggled against in the past for Man Utd.

However, Yoro had thoroughly bossed the game by the time the full-time whistle rang in the 4-1 win, and the French press were impressed.

L’Equipe rated him 7/10, which is very high by their standards, highlighting Yoro as the team’s “primary defensive spot” despite trailing early. They absolved him of all fault for Belgium’s opener.

Le Parisien called him “Super Costaud”, which translates to “rock-solid” or “sturdy”, as Yoro repelled all the danger Belgium posed with a stonewall display.

La Voix Du Nord rated him 8/10, calling him “simply the best player on the pitch”, noting how he won all his duels with his anticipation and aggression. That is quite a bold point, considering the attackers scored four goals, including Michael Olise’s brace and an assist.

GFFN rated him 6/10, saying that he completely cut off the supply line to Romelu Lukaku on his debut, hardly putting a foot wrong.

Goal France rated him 7/10, praising his recovery speed and aerial prowess, which stifled Belgium’s attacks and restricted them to just two shots on target all evening.

For his part, Yoro struck a confident tone after the game, saying that this experience was much like the Premier League, which will allow him to help Man Utd as well.

He said: “This type of match, as a young player, helps us a lot to progress. The Premier League is a bit like this. It will help me, it will help me show my qualities to everyone.”

Perhaps it is a message to Michael Carrick to start trusting him at Old Trafford instead of doubling down on the old guard of Harry Maguire and Lisandro Martinez, neither of whom is guaranteed to stay at the club next summer.