What's ahead for France: A look at the senior side and Les Espoirs
Ahead of two matches for each, we run the rule over the squads for France's senior team, and their U-21s, known as Les Espoirs -- learn more about the Ligue 1 McDonald's players who have been called up in our latest piece.
Senior squad: Thauvin AGAIN, six years later!
After a strong start to the season with RC Lens, Florian Thauvin is back with the French national team! With Bradley Barcola out, the Lensois number 10 was delighted to be called up yesterday by Didier Deschamps, giving him the chance to win his first cap since June 2019, joining the 23-man squad announced last Thursday by the coach.
During this October international break, Les Bleus will first face Azerbaijan at the Parc des Princes on Friday, October 10 (8:45 p.m.). They will then travel to Reykjavík, Iceland, on Monday, October 13 (8:45 p.m.). These two matches count towards qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. After two matches in Group D, France is in the lead (6 points), followed by Iceland (3 points), Ukraine and Azerbaijan (1 point each).
All in all, five players from Ligue 1 McDonald's have been called up:
Goalkeepers: Lucas Chevalier (PSG), Mike Maignan (AC Milan), Brice Samba (Stade Rennais)
Defenders: Lucas Digne (Aston Villa), Malo Gusto (Chelsea), Lucas Hernandez (PSG), Théo Hernandez (Al Hilal), Ibrahima Konaté (Liverpool), Jules Koundé (FC Barcelona), William Saliba (Arsenal), Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich)
Midfielders: Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid), Manu Koné (AS Roma), Michael Olise (Bayern Munich), Adrien Rabiot (AC Milan), Khéphren Thuram (Juventus)
Forwards: Maghnes Akliouche (AS Monaco), Florian Thauvin (RC Lens), Hugo Ekitike (Liverpool), Jean-Philippe Mateta (Crystal Palace), Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid), Christopher Nkunku (AC Milan), Kingsley Coman (Al-Nassr)
Thauvin is back in the French team 🇫🇷😍 pic.twitter.com/GNtsYUrdJo
— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) October 7, 2025
Espoirs: First call-ups for Mayulu and Methalie
As for Les Bleus' young counterparts, two players from Ligue 1 McDonald's have earned their first call-ups in the form of PSG's Senny Mayulu and Toulouse FC's young defender Dayann Mathalie.
Having made a strong start to qualifying for the next Euros after their 3-0 victory over Serbia, Les Espoirs will travel to face the Faroe Islands on Friday, October 10, before hosting Estonia in Grenoble on Monday, October 13.
The squad in full, with thirteen out of the 23 players coming from Ligue 1 McDonald's and Ligue 2 BKT:
Goalkeepers: Ewen Jaouen (Stade de Reims), Guillaume Restes (Toulouse FC), Robin Risser (RC Lens)
Defenders: Jaydee Canvot (Crystal Palace, ENG), Jérémy Jacquet (Stade Rennais), Thérence Koudou (KV Mechelen, BEL), Saël Kumbedi (VfL Wolfsburg, GER), Dayann Methalie (Toulouse FC), Leny Yoro (Manchester United, ENG)
Midfielders: Valentin Atangana (Al-Ahli, ARS), Ayyoub Bouaddi (LOSC), Djaoui Cissé (Stade Rennais), Kévin Danois (AJ Auxerre), Louis Leroux (FC Nantes), Lesly Ugochukwu (Burnley, ENG), Warren Zaïre-Emery (PSG)
Forwards: Jean-Mattéo Bahoya (Eintracht Frankfurt, ALL), Noah Edjouma (Toulouse FC), Eli Junior Kroupi (Bournemouth, ENG), Senny Mayulu (PSG), Kader Meïté (Stade Rennais), Wilson Odobert (Tottenham, ANG), Mathys Tel (Tottenham, ANG)
