France U20: Five Things to Know About Monaco's Lucas Michal

On Fire
Lucas Michal scored his fourth goal of the U20 World Cup against Japan in the quarter-finals, making him France’s top scorer at the tournament under Bernard Diomède, ahead of Andréa Le Borgne (3 goals). He had previously opened the scoring against South Africa (2-1) in the group stage and added a quick brace against New Caledonia in just 45 minutes in the final group match (6-0). Adding his decisive penalty against Japan, Michal now has 4 goals in 4 games at the tournament.

34 Youth Caps
Having turned 20 in late June, Michal has already played 34 matches for France’s youth teams: 9 with the U17s, 9 with the U19s, and 16 with the U20s, where he has scored 9 goals. Bernard Diomède clearly values him, having handed him debuts with both the U19s and U20s.

No Minutes in Ligue 1… Yet
Michal has made 14 appearances for AS Monaco’s first team, 13 of them last season. He benefited from the absences of Folarin Balogun and George Ilenikhena in early 2025 to gain most of his playing time. However, this season under Adi Hütter, he has yet to feature. His U20 World Cup heroics may now give him a boost to stake his claim at Monaco.

Lucas Michal (joueur de l'@AS_Monaco) ne tremble pas et transforme le pénalty de la victoire face au Japon 🇯🇵 !! Son 4e but dans la compétition 🔥

🔜 On retrouvera nos U20 en quart de finale de la Coupe du monde ce lundi matin, contre la Norvège 🇳🇴 pic.twitter.com/y5PMc4NHvx
— FFF (@FFF) October 9, 2025

Gambardella Winner
In April 2023, Michal was part of Monaco’s U18 side that won the Coupe Gambardella, beating Clermont 4-2 despite conceding first. He provided the third goal in the final and played alongside notable teammates such as Aladji Bamba, Pape Cabral, Joan Tincres, and Saïmon Bouabré.

Rap Music Venture
Born in Bourg-la-Reine in the Paris suburbs to Martiniquais parents, Michal began his youth career at Ivry before moving to Paris FC (2015-2018) and Torcy (2018-2020), eventually joining Monaco’s academy. During the COVID-19 lockdown, he took part in a rap writing workshop, recorded in a studio, and even filmed a music video alongside other Monaco U17s.