Paris Saint-Germain booked their spot in the FIFA Club World Cup final on Wednesday afternoon, beating Real Madrid 4-0 in a one-sided semi-final.

Les Parisiens have been the dominant force on the European scene over the past year and look set to extend that influence across the world with Sunday’s final drawing nearer.

Conference League winners Chelsea are the opponents at the MetLife Stadium for the Champions League holders this weekend, with the Premier League side looking to upset the odds in New Jersey.

You would find it difficult to find a supporter or pundit who gives Enzo Maresca’s side a serious chance of victory in the final, with PSG having shown little signs of weakness in recent times as they display their intimidating best

After batting away the futile efforts of Real Madrid with ease on Wednesday, Sports Mole asks whether football could be witnessing the start of a generational era in the French capital.

A phenomenon largely blamed on the influence of Pep Guardiola’s coaching genius over the past decade, most teams at the summit of the European game are chasing complete control of matches, which – for the most part – translates to hoarding possession of the ball.

As a result, there is a growing risk aversion in tactics at the top level, and it has increasingly felt that a side must sacrifice a level of attacking excitement and flair in order to dominate games with a robotic and monotonous approach, often to the frustration of onlookers, especially general football fans.

Then comes PSG, who have already begun to disprove that school of thought. Luis Enrique’s troops have shown exceptional control in a host of big matches over the past year – the latest example arriving against Real Madrid on Wednesday – without boring the crowd to death.

Les Parisiens are not afraid to bide their time in defence momentarily to allow players further forward to get into the right positions, but every backwards and sideways pass carries a purpose, before which spectators are given the pleasure of watching the French champions unlock an opposition’s defensive structure time and time again.

No matter how impressive they are on the eye over the next five years, fans of the future will quickly dismiss the idea of PSG being a generational side if they fail to write an extensive list of major honours into the history books with their current crop.

Fairly or not, due to question marks over the strength of the domestic game in France, Les Parisiens need to bag a few more Champions League trophies in quick succession to have genuine hope of going down as one of the best sides in the modern era, and we feel that they have the characteristics to do so.

PSG have shown on many occasions already their ability to handle the big matches and come out on top in sensational style, smashing Inter Milan 5-0 in the Champions League final before handing Real Madrid a severe beating in the Club World Cup semi-final earlier this week.

Not only will Enrique’s troops need to consistently arrive at the latter stages of UEFA’s top-tier competition, but they must also attend these games with the steeliness and nerve to get over the line, or else future generations will scoff at the suggestion of this group’s elite status.

In the early part of this decade, PSG attempted to plot a route to European glory by building a solid base which could facilitate the attacking brilliance of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, who had the luxury of largely neglecting defensive duties.

Since arriving at Parc des Princes in 2023, Enrique has successfully flipped the narrative of how the players of Les Parisiens are perceived, from a bunch of individuals to a well-oiled and eye-catching machine – albeit with world-class parts at its core.

Although the performances of Ousmane Dembele been highlighted for all the right reasons this season, PSG are not dependent on a single player to come up with a moment of magic, making them less prone to defeat by a mid-season injury crisis in the coming years.

Widely regarded as the best team in European football so far during the 2020s, Real Madrid have relied on the talents of Vinicius Jr and Karim Benemza to fire them to major honours, whereas Les Parisiens are on a more sustainable, collective path, one which could lead them to prolonged success.

With Real Madrid’s influence on the European stage beginning to wane and Manchester City’s ageing squad undergoing a period of transition in the hands of Pep Guardiola, there is a gap in the market for PSG to become the dominant team of at least the next five years.

Whilst the Citizens aim to lower the age profile of their squad, Les Parisiens have no such issue to address, with eight of their 11 starters from the semi-final humiliation of Real Madrid being either 25 or younger, while only captain Marquinhos (31) could be labelled as a veteran.

With the large majority of their squad heading into the prime years of their careers, PSG have the potential to earn a generational run of Ligue 1 and Champions League trophies before the end of the decade, given that they can keep hold of their best players.

Enrique’s nine-man bench at the Metlife Stadium on Wednesday afternoon was extremely youthful, with Bradley Barcola (22), Goncalo Ramos (24) and Warren Zaire-Emery (19) all tipped for bright futures at Parc des Princes with the European holders.

Sportsmole.co.uk

French Ligue 1 club OGC Nice have two Nigerian strikers in their books, and one of then set to leave the club this summer.

Les Aiglons signed Terem Moffi from Lorient in 2023. Then Victor Orakpo, who was signed to their youth team, was promoted to the senior team last year.

Following Moffi’s anterior cruciate ligament injury last season, Orakpo joined the senior team to fill the void.

However, he did not get a lot of game time, as Evann Guessand, Badredine Bouanani and Gaetan Laborde were all ahead of him in the pecking order.

Moffi also returned to action for Nice late last season, which means that Orakpo has more players ahead of him in the pecking order. And for a 19-year-old striker, who needs game time to develop and work on his game, that would not be ideal.

Hence, Nice are willing to explore new options. According to GFFN, Orakpo is set to leave Nice for Montpellier on a loan deal this summer.

Montpellier just got demoted to Ligue 2, after a terrible campaign in Ligue 1 that saw them finish bottom with just 16 points.

Orakpo would be a fine signing for Montpellier, as he will come at a bargain. He will also be eager to prove himself so he can earn a place at Nice.

Orakpo is just over 2 ft, and he uses his height quite well. He is physical, great in aerial situations, and a fine finisher.

The Nigerian striker will hope to shine at Montpellier and help them gain promotion to the Ligue 1 by the end of next season. Perhaps, they could even sign him permanently.

Who is Victor Orakpo?
Orakpo is a Nigerian striker who was scouted during an international competition hosted by Bayern Munich in October 2022. The then 16-year-old striker won the MVP award after helping his side win the competition.

Following Orakpo’s impressive performance in the competition, top clubs like AC Milan, Bayern Munich, Tottenham, and Newcastle United started monitoring the VOE Foundation product. However, he chose to move to Ligue 1 club Nice.

Soccernet.ng

Paul Pogba has said that he hopes to make a return to the French national team but added that there are “stages” to the process, as he was officially presented by AS Monaco on Thursday.

The former Manchester United and Juventus midfielder signed for the Ligue 1 club on a free transfer after serving an 18-month doping ban, after testing positive for DHEA, which boosts testosterone levels.

“It’s the wish of every French football player to represent the France national team, but there are stages,” Pogba said at his unveiling in Monaco.

The 2018 World Cup winner has earned 91 caps for France, the most recent of which coming in March 2022 while his last club appearance was for Juventus in Sept. 2023.

He signed a two-year contract at Monaco in an effort to reignite his career, with a source telling ESPN the 32-year old turned down a lucrative offer from a Saudi Pro League side.

“Today I’m at stage one — coming back and performing well.

“There are spots to be won and you have to earn them because it’s a very, very good group, a great team,” he said.

Pogba’s teammate and former Tottenham Hotspur defender Eric Dier — who was also unveiled by Monaco on Thursday — spoke about the excitement of having him back in French football.

“I think it [Pogba’s arrival at AS Monaco] is, obviously, very exciting for the club, and I think for the French league in general,” Dier told French media.

I have played against Paul many times I know how good he is. I think everyone does. I am excited to see him play football again, and to get to see it close as well, is even better.”

Monaco finished third last season and will be hoping the signings of Pogba, Dier and Ansu Fati on loan from Barcelona will allow them to challenge Paris-Saint Germain for the Ligue 1 title.

Pogba won four league titles and two Italian Cups with Juventus as well the Europa League during his time at United.

“Of course we have protocols in place, strategies, which players who have been around longer are familiar with that because they’ve played in circumstances like this — for other players, they get to for the first time.

“We could already practise it in the first week of our training camp because in England it was really hot too, so we have these cold vests, we have [an] ice box, ice drinks they can drink before training session they could also cool down a bit, get your temperature a little bit lower with [drinks like] Slush Puppies.

“We have ice cold towels at the rest moment in the training sessions; they get the towels if they want to. So we make sure we are hydrated. Take another rest and do those things to keep your body temperature low.”

Wiegman later added they’re using cryotherapy too.

When asked about them training in the hottest part of the day, Wiegman replied: “We did today, I think it’s cooling down over the next couple of days. We also know that we play 9 p.m., 6 p.m., 9 p.m. in the group stage, so we don’t expect it to be this hot. Today we didn’t change the schedule.”

Wiegman said the potential heat on Saturday will not change the way which she approaches the match and she will judge any changes on player impact and exhaustion as she usually does.

“What we do now is get prepared for Saturday, for France and we’re going to do everything to win that game, when we sub we do it because it’s necessary to change the game or to sub someone who gave everything that needs to go out,” Wiegman said.

“I will not think of managing the heat at that point — after that game, we recover and then we come together as a team with the medical and technical staff and look at how does everyone come out of this game. Then we move forward to the next game against the Netherlands.”

Espn.co.uk