France: Akliouche named for first time and more
AS Monaco midfielder Maghnes Akliouche was one of eight Ligue 1 McDonald's players named to Didier Deschamps' latest France squad -- get all the latest:
A strong squad for World Cup Qualifying
It's "back to school" for the French national team! For the start of the 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign, coach Didier Deschamps has unveiled a list of 23 players, including eight from Ligue 1 McDonald's. After helping the Principality side finish third last year (and being named the Club's MVP), a successful preseason and a strong start to the season with AS Monaco, Maghnes Akliouche (23) has been called up for the first time to Les Bleus. This follows a successful stint with the French U21s (including winning a silver medal as Olympic runner-up in 2024).
First national team call-up for Maghnes Akliouche! đ«đ·đ pic.twitter.com/JiF2LAlyhq
â Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) August 27, 2025
Two goalkeepers in, two PSG players out
Among the eight players called up by Deschamps are two goalkeepers, including one who was on the move this summer to Paris Saint-Germain in the form of Lucas Chevalier. While Chevalier has been a part of the squad before, he's yet to win his first cap and will surely be up for the challenge as he joins Stade Rennais' Brice Samba as one of his country's options in goal.
Two of his new teammates haven't been included, though -- both midfielder Warren Zaïre-Emery and forward Randal Kolo Muani have been left out of the squad, despite the latter's success on loan at Juventus last season. The capital side will still be well-represented, though: each of Bradley Barcola, Ousmane Dembélé, Désiré Doué and Lucas Hernandez have been called up.
To start this qualifying campaign, Les Bleus will travel to Wroclaw, Poland, on Friday, September 5th, to face Ukraine before hosting Iceland at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday, September 9th.
The full squad:
Goalkeepers: Lucas Chevalier (PSG), Mike Maignan (AC Milan, ITA), Brice Samba (Stade Rennais)
Defenders: Lucas Digne (Aston Villa, ENG), Malo Gusto (Chelsea, ENG), Lucas Hernandez (PSG), ThĂ©o Hernandez (Al-Hilal FC, ARS), Ibrahima KonatĂ© (Liverpool, ENG), Jules KoundĂ© (FC Barcelona, ââESP), William Saliba (Arsenal, ENG), Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich, GE)
Midfielders: Désiré Doué (PSG), Manu Koné (AS Roma, ITA), Adrien Rabiot (OM), Aurélien Tchouaméni (Real Madrid, ESP), Khéphren Thuram (Juventus, ITA)
Forwards: Maghnes Akliouche (AS Monaco), Bradley Barcola (PSG), Rayan Cherki (Manchester City, ENG), Ousmane Dembélé (PSG), Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid, ESP), Michael Olise (Bayern Munich, GE), Marcus Thuram (Inter Milan, ITA)
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