KAZAN, Russia — It was one of the most spectacular goals of this World Cup, and what made Benjamin Pavard’s 20-yard half-volley against Argentina all the more remarkable was that so few saw him coming.
A little more than a year ago, Pavard, 22, was playing in the German second division with Stuttgart. Called up to France’s national team for the first time in November, he was not expected to make Manager Didier Deschamps’s final 23-man roster for the World Cup in Russia. He certainly was not expected to displace the incumbent at right back, Djibril Sidibé, in the starting lineup.