Jean-Philippe Mateta reveals that Crystal Palace teammates laughed about France dream | OneFootball

For much of his career, a call-up to the France squad has looked to be a distant dream for Jean-Philippe Mateta (28). The Crystal Palace forward has gone from strength to strength over the past couple of years and has finally been rewarded with a call-up by Didier Deschamps.

“I always believed [in playing for the France national team],” Mateta tells L’Équipe. However, there was a time when the Frenchman was even on the fringes of the Crystal Palace squad. It is only his recent rise to prominence that has seen him come into Deschamps’ thinking at international level.

It always seemed a distant dream, and when he expressed it to his Crystal Palace teammates, it was received with laughter.

“At Crystal Palace, right at the start (January 2021), when I wasn’t even playing, I spoke about the France team in the dressing room and I had teammates like Wilfried Zaha who were laughing. They said that I was mad to think about the France team when I wasn’t even playing at Crystal Palace, but I responded saying that it was my objective and that I simply had to play to show what I could do,” said the forward.

He added, “My dream has always been to play for the France team […] I knew that I would get my chance.” And Mateta was ultimately right. Having represented Les Bleus at the Olympics in 2024, he will now get the chance to represent the senior side. He will be hoping to make his debut for France during the upcoming matches against Azerbaijan and Iceland. His objective will now be securing his ticket for the FIFA World Cup next summer.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle