Samuel Umtiti

Samuel Umtiti is a French professional footballer

Samuel Umtiti ( born 14 November 1993) is a French professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Spanish club Barcelona and the French national team.

Umtiti began his professional career with Lyon in 2012, winning both the Coupe de France and Trophée des Champions in his first year. He totalled 170 games and three goals before a €25 million transfer to Barcelona in 2016. He went on to win the Copa del Rey in his first season in Spain and a La Liga and Cup double the following campaign.

After winning 47 caps and scoring three goals at youth level, including winning the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup, Umtiti made his senior debut for France at UEFA Euro 2016, where they reached the final. Two years later, he was part of the squad that won the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

On 13 June 2017, Umtiti scored his first goal for France, equalising against England in an eventual 3–2 victory for Les Bleus in a friendly match in Paris.

On 17 May 2018, he was called up to the 23-man French squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.[30] In the semi-final against Belgium on 10 July, he scored the only goal of the game, heading in a corner. On 15 July, Umtiti was named as a starter, as France beat Croatia 4–2 in the 2018 FIFA World Cup Final.

mtiti is a central defender. In 2018, ESPN FC journalist Sam Marsden was effusive in praising Umtiti, opining that, "As well as reading the game as if it was a children's book, timing his challenges to the millisecond and putting his body on the line in the name of a block, [Umtiti] is a daring defender. He takes risks, feeding the ball between the lines, and rarely picks the wrong option", going on to say, "Of the six summer signings Robert Fernandez made in 2016, Umtiti has proved the sporting director's Mona Lisa [...] Barca should make sure they follow through on their threat to up their security on a player who has the potential to not just keep improving, but who could lead their defence for the next five to 10 years.