Didier Deschamps explains decision to hand Crystal Palace’s Jean-Philippe Mateta his first senior France call-up | OneFootball

Crystal Palace centre-forward Jean-Philippe Mateta (28) has been handed a first senior France call-up by Les Bleus boss Didier Deschamps. The 28-year-old will take part in France’s campaign to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. France will host Azerbaijan at Paris’ Parc des Princes on Friday, October 10 before flying out to Reykjavik to face Iceland the following Monday.

Mateta’s call-up is hardly a surprising one, given Deschamps was short of centre-forwards to call up. Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé and Inter Milan’s Marcus Thuram are out through injuries, whereas Randal Kolo Muani remains short of game time with Tottenham Hotspur.

Deschamps has made no mystery that Mateta’s presence owes much to the current lack of firepower at Deschamps’ disposal, although Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappé and Liverpool’s Hugo Ekitike have both made the cut. But the France national team manager said he rates the 28-year-old Palace striker’s “interesting profile.”

“He’s not that young, although he featured in most of France’s youth teams, but he has that ability to score goals“, Deschamps said in his presser. The 1998 and 2018 World Cup winner also said he took notice of Mateta’s performances (4 goals) during France’s run to the Olympic silver medal in the 2024 Paris Summer Games.

Deschamps added that Mateta, like 50 other players or so, had received preliminary call-ups for a while now. “It’s up to me and my staff to foresee solutions to cover absences.”

GFFN | Bastien Cheval