Maghnes Akliouche earns France World Cup call after swift rise with Monaco | OneFootball

Didier Deschamps named Maghnes Akliouche in France’s 26-man World Cup squad on Thursday night, a landmark first senior tournament for the Monaco playmaker.

According to Nice-Matin, the 24-year-old learned his fate as Deschamps read out the names live on TF1’s 20h news. His inclusion was plausible rather than certain given fierce competition and the manager’s regard for hierarchy.

A first senior call came in September, and across eight months and four camps he has logged seven caps, two starts including one competitive, plus one goal and two assists.

In March he started the 3-1 friendly win against Colombia, set up Marcus Thuram and began the move for the third goal. Before that window he said he aimed to seize the chance to show he could contribute.

Akliouche has settled steadily with the squad, growing more comfortable as each camp progresses. At Monaco, Adi Hütter then Sébastien Pocognoli stressed defensive tracking alongside his dribbling and combination play, a quality valued by Deschamps.

Though Monaco had dips, he still produced three goals and one assist between February and April, seven goals and nine assists overall. His call also extends Monaco’s run since 2018 of supplying France players at every World Cup or Euro, following Youssouf Fofana in 2024, Axel Disasi in 2022, Wissam Ben Yedder in 2020 and Djibril Sidibé and Thomas Lemar in 2018.

Source: Nice-Matin