Theo Hernandez came off the bench to replace his injured brother and made an immediate impact in the World Cup, as France fans and media are demanding Didier Deschamps start the Milan left-back from now on.
The 25-year-old was initially not in the starting XI against Australia, coming on after 10 minutes in the worst circumstances, with France 1-0 down and replacing his injured brother.
Initial reports suggest Lucas Hernandez has a serious knee injury and could be out for the rest of the tournament.
Deschamps has been hesitant to use Theo Hernandez for France, despite his extraordinary performances for Milan that helped them win the Serie A title.
This was only his eighth senior cap for his country, making his debut in September 2021, and already his fifth assist.
He immediately provided an assist for Adrien Rabiot to equalise and continued to impress in a 4-1 win, with Milan teammate Olivier Giroud bagging a brace.
The performance saw fans and media in France clamour for Theo Hernandez to take the left-back slot on a permanent basis going forward, regardless of his brother’s fitness.
“Theo Hernandez is definitely essential for this France team,” wrote the very popular Twitter account Vibes Foot.
“Theo Hernandez aka the remote-controlled left foot,” added Be Football.
A supporter joked that providence had come to the rescue for Deschamps, who “made the wrong choice only for the bodies of his players to correct it for him.”
Another pointed out “Theo Hernandez is one of the top three players in his role, but you put Lucas there instead who hasn’t played left-back for who knows how long,” while it was noted “Theo Hernandez changed the game, he’s a monster.”
El Chiringuito in Spain focused on the heatmap, showing Theo Hernandez made 51 passes, four key passes, one assist and won eight duels.
“The only thing Theo Hernandez didn’t succeed in today was starting the match,” wrote pundit Yon Ecenarro.
French football expert Andres Onrubia Ramos insists “this result doesn’t happen without Theo Hernandez. Great match.”
He was incredible and I start to think he is top 3 in the world in the position
Breaking News: Theo is a great left back.
Welcome aboard, French fans. You might also notice a guy named Giroud who scores goals.
Milan fans are gloating now, but imagine Deschamps started Theo and HE was the one to test his ACL and nor his brother. They’d be crying themselves into summer.
Kyle, imagine the ocean was made of stone or the trees were but figments of our imaginations?