Didier Deschamps has handed Monaco playmaker Maghnes Akliouche his first France call-up but surprisingly overlooked Liverpool forward Hugo Ekitike. The 56-year-old’s squad for the FIFA World Cup 26™ qualifiers against Ukraine in Wroclaw and Iceland in Paris is headlined by superstars Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue and Kylian Mbappe.
Akliouche, alongside the likes of Rayan Cherki, Doue, Jean-Philippe Mateta and Michael Olise, helped France seize silver at the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament Paris 2024. The 23-year-old began this season with a goal in Monaco’s 3-1 win over Le Harve.
Ekitike scored 22 goals for Eintracht Frankfurt in 2024/25, and has registered three goals in three games for Liverpool this term. Loic Bade, Randal Kolo Muani, Benjamin Pavard and Warren Zaire-Emery, who were all part of Deschamps’ previous squad, were also omitted, while Jules Kounde, William Saliba and Dayot Upamecano returned to the fold.
“Hugo, maybe you’re noticing him a bit more now because he’s at Liverpool, but even before that, through what he’d already done last season, we were following him when he was at Frankfurt, where he had a very good season,” said Deschamps. “It was so good for him. The fact that he’s now at Liverpool and continues to be effective is great.
“There is, of course, competition for that position. I’m not here to just stockpile players, but obviously he has the potential to be in the French national team. His profile is essentially that of a central striker.
“Maghnes, on the other hand, is more of a wide player. He had a good season with AS Monaco and has a lot of technical qualities. There’s still room for improvement – certainly in terms of becoming more efficient, which could make him even more remarkable – but he has the potential to achieve some very interesting things.”
Rich recent history
France, in what was their 10th World Cup participation, lifted the trophy for the first time on home soil in 1998, with Deschamps a key player alongside the likes of Lilian Thuram and Zinedine Zidane.
Les Bleus lost a shootout to Italy in the Germany 2006 decider, before seizing a second star with a 4-2 defeat of Croatia in the Russia 2018 climax. Despite a heroic hat-trick from Mbappe, they lost on penalties to Argentina at Qatar 2022 in what is widely regarded as the greatest final in the competition’s history.
As well as Ukraine and Iceland, France have Azerbaijan for company in Group D of the UEFA preliminaries for World Cup 26. The top team will qualify automatically, with the runners-up going into the European play-offs.
France squad
Goalkeepers
Lucas Chevalier (Paris Saint-Germain)
Mike Maignan (AC Milan)
Brice Samba (Rennes)
Centre-backs
Lucas Hernandez (Paris Saint-Germain)
Ibrahima Konate (Liverpool)
William Saliba (Arsenal)
Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich)
Full-backs
Lucas Digne (Aston Villa)
Malo Gusto (Chelsea)
Theo Hernandez (Al Hilal)
Jules Kounde (Barcelona)
Midfielders
Desire Doue (Paris Saint-Germain)
Manu Kone (Roma)
Adrien Rabiot (Marseille)
Aurelien Tchouameni (Real Madrid)
Khephren Thuram (Juventus)
Attackers
Maghnes Akliouche (Monaco)
Bradley Barcola (Paris Saint-Germain)
Rayan Cherki (Manchester City)
Ousmane Dembele (Paris Saint-Germain)
Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid)
Michael Olise (Bayern Munich)
Marcus Thuram (Inter Milan)
