Jamie Vardy says N’Golo Kante originally wanted to play for Mali before Leicester City team-mates persuaded him he would one day win the World Cup with France.
The English striker’s comments, made about discussions during their time together at Leicester, now sound remarkably prophetic after Kante lifted the trophy with France in 2018.
“N’golo Kante voulait jouer pour le Mali pour representer ses origines mais on l’a convaincu qu’il sera champion du monde avec l’equipe de France !” a declare Vardy.
At the time, the pull of Mali – the country of Kante’s parents – was strong, and the midfielder seriously considered committing his international future to the Eagles.
Torn between roots and ambition
Deeply attached to his Malian heritage, Kante hesitated as the Mali national team stepped up efforts to secure his allegiance. The West African side viewed the then-rising Premier League star as a potential cornerstone of their future.
But inside the Leicester City dressing room, his team-mates were convinced his ceiling was far higher. The scale of “NG’s” talent, they felt, demanded a stage at the very top of the international game.
Among the Foxes squad, there was a growing consensus that Kante should aim for the world’s biggest prizes – and that meant France, not Mali. Players rallied around him, stressing that his combination of anticipation, ball-winning and relentless running could make him a key figure for a team capable of winning the World Cup.
The decisive turn towards Les Bleus
That internal push from his club colleagues proved pivotal. Encouraged by their belief in him, and with France coach Didier Deschamps calling him up in March 2016, Kante ultimately chose to wear the blue shirt of the French national team.
His decision quickly appeared justified. Within months, he had become a central part of Deschamps’ plans, his understated style and tactical discipline making him indispensable in midfield.
Two years later, in Russia, Kante stood at the summit of world football, helping France to their second World Cup title. He was widely regarded as one of the key figures in the squad that triumphed in 2018, his work off the ball and defensive intelligence freeing France’s attacking players to flourish.
A career – and a nation’s history – shaped by a fine margin
Looking back roughly a decade after Vardy’s original confidence in his team-mate, the episode underlines how close Kante came to a very different international career.
Had he chosen Mali, he would have become the star of a proud but less decorated national side, with far slimmer prospects of lifting the game’s biggest trophy. Instead, a blend of dressing-room persuasion, Deschamps’ faith and Kante’s own difficult decision reshaped both his personal story and the recent history of the French national team.
The anecdote now serves as a reminder of how the fate of an exceptional player – and the legacy of a World Cup-winning nation – can pivot on the finest of margins.
