Steven N’Zonzi Told Teammates To Give World Cup To Kante Because He Was Too Shy To Ask

PA

In what’s possibly the most humble World Cup celebration ever, N’Golo Kante proved ‘too shy’ to ask his teammates if he could hold the trophy – so Steven N’Zonzi asked for him.

France were crowned World Cup champions, 2018, when they beat Croatia 4-2 yesterday, (July 15) and of course the whole team couldn’t wait to get their hands on the coveted trophy.

Midfielder N’Golo Kante received a yellow card in the game, after which, manager Didier Deschamps subbed him for Steven N’Zonzi, 55 minutes into the final.

Emily Brown

Following the final whistle, when the French team were finally allowed to get their hands on the World Cup trophy – for the second time in history – Kante, as I’m sure anyone would, wanted to hold the trophy and feel the weight of France’s success.

The midfielder’s known for being a more reserved character, and while the team were celebrating and posing with the trophy, Kante was apparently ‘too shy’ to ask his teammates for a turn to hold the trophy.

Apparently, he didn’t want to ‘impose’ on any of the players. Adorable.

Instead, N’Zonzi asked the team to give Kante a turn, taking the trophy from Florian Thauvin after he’d posed for the photographers.

The interaction was tweeted by Get French Football News, who wrote on Twitter:

There is the suggestion tonight from several sources that during the on-pitch trophy celebrations, Steven N’Zonzi had to ask certain players to let N’Golo Kanté hold the World Cup trophy because the man himself was too shy to ask & didn’t want to impose on anyone.

What a hero.

Other people also tweeted about the scene, praising N’Zonzi for making sure Kante got his turn.

While other viewers expressed their love for Kante’s delightfully humble nature.

One wrote:

Nzonzi telling the players to give kanté the trophy, then giving the trophy to him before getting a photo for himself. What a nice guy! [sic]

Another added:

N’zonzi reportedly had to go around and ask other French players to let Kante hold and take a picture with the trophy because he was too shy to ask himself!

If that’s true, I actually love this man!

A third wrote:

Story of Kante being too shy to ask to hold the World Cup last night and n’zonzi having to grab it and put it in his hands, no on a Monday morning [sic]

Kante made the most of his opportunity with the World Cup trophy, posing proudly with it while wearing a big grin.

The Chelsea midfielder was visibly elated at his nation’s victory and can now look forward to pre-season before the Premier League kicks off in August.

Congratulations, France! Thoroughly deserved champions!

If you have a story you want to tell, send it to [email protected].

Emily Brown

Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.