France's Zidane gives unknown Brugge striker a one-time chance
Zinédine Zidane caused a striking surprise for the French national team by unexpectedly calling up Steve Ngoura (21), striker of Cercle Brugge, on Tuesday. The young forward, previously unknown, was given the chance to train alongside stars such as Kylian Mbappé and Michael Olise. The story appeared two minutes ago on Google.
Why the unexpected call-up
Ngoura had originally traveled to the French training centre in Clairefontaine for the international break with the France U21 team. Normally he plays his matches in the Belgian league. The call-up was not an official appointment to the A squad. The reason was that Marcus Thuram had to withdraw from the selection due to an injury. His replacement, Eli Junior Kroupi, could not be present in time for Tuesday's training. Because Ngoura was already staying in Clairefontaine with the France U21 team, Zidane decided to involve him temporarily with the A team.
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For Ngoura it remained just one training session with the French stars. He will remain attached to the France U21 team during this international break and is not part of the official squad for the upcoming internationals. The 21‑year‑old striker, who stands 1.93 metres tall, will not soon forget the unexpected meeting with Mbappé and the other internationals.