Guéhi: Teamwork, leadership, goalscoring – and going for glory

This interview was conducted in February 2025 and was initially published in the Crystal Palace v Everton matchday programme - you can buy the matchday programme by clicking HERE.

You could be forgiven for thinking the last two seasons might have changed Marc Guéhi.

The spotlight shines brightly on international footballers, particularly those who play a huge part in a team’s success at a major tournament. Guéhi certainly did that in Germany last summer.

Palace fans already knew all about his composure, calmness under pressure, and ability to handle the big games. But the England national team brings a higher profile – and, with it, scrutiny that few other teams can match. For many, such a big experience would leave an impact.

In a European Championship where the team initially struggled, at least to deliver fluid performances if not results, Guéhi excelled from the off. Normally a Three Lions side not quite hitting the heights would bring players personal criticism. But the Palace star stood out on his own in only receiving plaudits.

That noise, whether good or bad, can make or break players at the highest level – so how did Guéhi deal with it?

“Honestly, while the tournament was going on, I really had no idea what was going on in terms of people talking about me,” he said.

“But when the tournament finished... I still didn’t really know what was going on!”

“It’s because I really don’t pay any attention to that outside talk, really. I’m in my own little world, so when things are going well, I’m aware and I know when I’m doing okay.

“And when I’m not doing well, I know I don’t need others to tell me. I’m my own biggest critic but in a good way. I can’t control what people say about me or what they think.

“In one respect it was nice to have people talk about you in a complimentary way. But at the same time, I don’t focus on that noise. I’m purely focused on trying to do the best I can for the team.”

Guéhi’s stock only seemed to rise throughout the tournament. By the time of the final against Spain, he was widely considered one of Sir Gareth Southgate’s most reliable performers.

England lost 2-1, with Guéhi coming agonisingly close to scoring one of the most important goals in the team’s history, his header cleared off the line in the closing stages.

As the summer faded, he didn’t have time to rest. It wasn’t long before he was preparing for his fourth season with the Eagles. It is a campaign that has brought with it the added challenge of wearing the captain’s armband on a regular basis.

But it's not as though Guéhi hasn’t led from a young age. After all, he was the youngest Eagles skipper ever when he first wore the armband in 2022, having also already captained England Under-21s.

But as those within the game know, being a full-time Premier League captain, and everything that comes with it, can be demanding for even the most experienced of players.

It means an increased profile and a greater level of scrutiny. Yet Guéhi has, again, taken it in his stride.

“I don’t think it’ll ever feel natural to be captain of a football club, but it’s a huge positive for me that we’ve got so many leaders in this dressing room.

“They really help me. I might be quite young, but Wardy’s still around, we’ve got Hughesy, Dean, Remi − so many experienced players who can chip in.

“It’s not like a burden or anything, it’s actually a blessing that I get to do it with so many other people.”

Think of your best centre-halves in history and you’ll normally find they had an almost equally brilliant partner next to them. Moore and Charlton, Baresi and Maldini, Ferdinand and Vidic.

Great defenders need great players consistently alongside them at the back. Due to several circumstances, Guéhi spent the first half of the season often switching his position within Palace’s back three – with his partners also changing.

The fact he was able to remain consistent throughout highlighted one of his key traits – staying level-headed.

“It has been tough but good,” he said. “I’d say at the start of the season, Joachim [Andersen] started in the middle, I was on the left, Chris [Richards] was on the right. Joachim then leaves, I end up in the middle, Chris is on the right, Trevoh [Chalobah] came in on the left.

"Then Max [Lacroix] comes and he steps in on the right, then Max shifted to play in the middle, and then Trevoh’s on the right and I’m on the left. Now, Chris has done really well since Trevoh left.

“We’ve all been playing in different positions – and the manager asks us to do all different things, so you want to get that familiarity within the position.

“But like I said, when you work so hard and you have the trust of the manager, finally you start to get good confidence within each other. It shows when you’re getting clean sheets.

“And then you’ve got Deano in goal playing unbelievably well, which is really helpful.

"Like we always say, it starts with the work the lads do up-front – the off-the-ball work. It makes it a lot easier for us.”

You know within five minutes of talking to Guéhi that he isn’t in the game for individual glory. But every footballer, even a team-driven centre-back, can enjoy scoring a goal.

With four matches of the season left, 2024/25 has been something of a prolific campaign for the 24-year-old. With three Premier League goals, it is his best goal return in the top-flight. Prior to this year, he had scored three league goals in total across three seasons.

If he can add another couple in these crucial final matches, he’ll have a tally for the season that most defenders – and even a few midfielders – would envy.

“I mean, it really is all down to the team,” Guéhi explains when asked if there’s a reason for his extra return at the other end of the pitch.

“I’m not scoring those goals without other players doing their job, putting the ball in for me to score those goals, or blocking on set-pieces and doing the important work that they’re doing.

“Or, for example, the staff taking the time that they have to make sure that we go through the set-pieces and make sure they’re done in the finest detail.

“Really any success that anyone has is all down to the team – and it always has been and always will be.”

Goals are a nice bonus, but Guéhi’s bread and butter is defending, where he seems to have taken his game to another level in the last year. Having a manager, in Oliver Glasner, that knows the role so well has helped.

“All of the staff really do their due diligence. They’re thorough when they’re spotting opposition’s weaknesses, strengths and finding places to exploit.

“And it’s definitely helped that the manager has obviously played there. He is able to give little tips that we can all use on the pitch.

“I think in today’s football, you have to be really methodical, really detailed about what you’re doing – we’ve got that here.”

Guéhi is certainly methodical – whether on or off the pitch.

It was revealed earlier this year, in the lead up to recent series three finale of BBC show The Traitors, that Guéhi had won – as a solo player – a month-long version of the game played within the England camp last summer in Germany.

As those familiar with the format will know, the fact he did so playing as a Traitor, rather than as a Faithful, made it an even more impressive achievement.

“Games like that were a tradition before the Euros,” said Guéhi. “They liked to play Wolfgate, which is similar to Traitors, but smaller and a bit more intimate.

“Then we did the massive Traitors game, with more staff and more players, which was played out across a couple of weeks, which was good. I started as a Faithful but was recruited to the Traitors.

“At the end, it was myself, Kieran Trippier and one of our team chefs left standing. The final round was really tense, Trippier was a genuine Faithful and had caught onto me, but I had the chef on string!

“I just finished the recent series, it’s nice to watch it knowing how to play!”

It makes sense that Guéhi excelled at a game of building relationships whilst simultaneously staying under the radar.

His cool, calm character is an attribute that has taken him far, whether he is voting out the Faithful – or stopping Premier League strikers.

His biggest test of the last two years may yet be to come at Wembley, a ground he has come to know so well in that time.

But rest assured that, in Marc Guéhi, Palace possess a burgeoning young leader mentally equipped to rise to the historic challenge before him – and before Crystal Palace Football Club.