Why Kante is still crucial for France - Giroud

When we were both back at Chelsea after we had won the World Cup together with France in 2018, N'Golo Kante said to me, "Oli, I think I am going to retire from the national team."

I told him, 'no NG, look, you are top of the world. I can understand why you are saying this, but you need to carry on. You are too young to stop.'

That was eight years ago, and NG - which is what all his friends and team-mates call him - is still going for France, and is still a crucial player for Les Bleus.

He is 35 now, but as I say whenever I am asked about him being in in the France squad, NG is NG. You might have not seen him in the Premier League for a few years because he has been playing in Saudi Arabia and, since February for Fenerbahce in Turkey, but he has not changed.

Back in the day, if you were playing outside the top leagues in Europe, it might have meant Didier Deschamps would not pick you for France.

For example, Andre-Pierre Gignac was already in Mexico when he played in the Euro 2016 final, but Deschamps told him that if he stayed in a championship like that, and not at the best level in Europe, then he would not have the chance to come back into the national team.

Deschamps has evolved in his thinking since then, because he knows he needs to adapt, and a lot of those leagues are stronger now.

But he also used to still call up N'Golo when he was in Saudi Arabia because he knows that, as long as he is delivering his game, you can always count on him to bring what he does best.

Kante made his France debut in 2016 and has won 69 caps for Les Bleus, scoring two goals

I actually expect Deschamps will put N'Golo on the bench at first, and pick Aurelien Tchouameni and Adrien Rabiot together in France's midfield.

They started in the team that played against Northern Ireland last week, and I think that team is going to start the tournament against Senegal on Tuesday.

But you cannot play a whole World Cup with just two midfielders, especially because France will probably have four such attacking players in front of them in Michael Olise, Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue and Kylian Mbappe.

You need balance between attack and defence, and N'Golo always brings that to every team he plays in.

Even if Deschamps does not play him from the start, he will be happy and he will help in every game anyway. In some of them we will really need him.

When I played with him, for club or country, I used to say we played with 12 men because he can do two jobs - and he has not changed there. I was always glad when he played alongside me, for the same reasons I am glad he is in the squad again now.

His energy is incredible, and his mentality is contagious. When you see him running everywhere, it gives you some strength to do the same, no matter how tired your legs are.

N'Golo will be massively important, especially if we need to hold a lead or defend a result, like we did for the whole competition at the 2018 World Cup, when we were only behind for nine minutes - in the last 16 against Argentina - out of the total of 630 minutes we played across seven games.

We had a strong balance then, with Paul Pogba and N'Golo at the base of our midfield. Blaise Matuidi would drop back too, along with Antoine Griezmann and myself, when we needed to.

The same France team that beat Belgium 1-0 in the semi-finals started against Croatia in the 2018 World Cup final. Les Bleus won 4-2

I especially remember that happening in the semi-final against Belgium, when we went ahead at the start of the second half. They had a really talented team and we had to just defend.

This time, if France at some point play against a strong team and Deschamps adopts a more defensive position, or if we need to keep the result when we are ahead, then I am sure N'Golo will play his part.

I would also not be surprised if, in the later stages of this competition, he is starting games for us.

N'Golo Kante won the World Cup with France in 2018

There is another reason Deschamps has selected N'Golo. In any squad, he is like the mascot, you know? Everyone loves him, because he is such a nice guy.

He is quiet, and can be a bit timid - you could even say he is shy - but that is not a criticism because N'Golo brings the sunshine when he is smiling - and he is always smiling.