Zinédine Zidane bets on the sons of legends and the French hopes

Zinédine Zidane has called up Senny Mayulu, Pablo Pagis and Saël Kumbedi to the France team. The successive withdrawals of Maghnes Akliouche (Paris SG), Marcus Thuram (Inter Milan), Pierre Kalulu (Juventus Turin) and Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid) against Turkey opened the door for these four players.

Jonathan Lange, editor-in-chief of Sports, introduced these new faces. The squad is part of the Football Nations League. The press release, shared via Discover, bears the ©Icon Sport and AFP notice.

Pablo Pagis' Career

Pablo Pagis, son of Mickaël Pagis, signed his first professional contract at Lorient in 2022 after coming through Rennes' academy. His father says the young striker was loaned to Nîmes and Laval in Ligue 2 to “learn a lot”. After a full season in Ligue 2 followed by another in Ligue 1, Pagis was transferred last summer to Paris FC for €16 million, a club that had not had a French international since 1973. At 23, the versatile striker Pagis is impressed by the speed of his balls and his profile recalls that of Lucas Da Cunha.

Emergence of Eli Junior Kroupi and Saël Kumbedi

Eli Junior Kroupi, international since the U16s, joined Bournemouth thanks to the multi-ownership of Black Night Football Club. Kroupi moved from Ligue 2 to the Premier League by scoring 13 goals last season, breaking the U20 record previously held by Robbie Fowler. Portugal tried to persuade him for the World Cup last summer, but he turned down Roberto Martinez’s advances. A metatarsal fracture operated on July 29 limited his playing time; he returned to competition on October 25 at Old Trafford and has played only 57 minutes this season.

Zidane chooses Pablo Pagis: from depression to French debut

Saël Kumbedi, a 21‑year‑old defender, was relegated with Wolfsburg last season and becomes the first player called up to the France team while playing in D2 since a striker. Kumbedi played for Paris SG (2015‑2018), Le Havre (2019‑2022) then three seasons at Lyon, and his €6 million purchase option was exercised by Wolfsburg in January.

At Clairefontaine, Kumbedi said that the last great French scorer was David Trezeguet. Zinédine Zidane shows his willingness to be open by promoting these players after speaking to the Espoirs last month.

Lyon surge to group lead after Turin demolition in Liga

Warren Zaïre‑Emery, 20 years old since March, already has 197 matches with Paris SG and Zidane plans to use him solely in midfield. Senny Mayulu, two months younger than Kumbedi, is about to reach the 100‑appearance milestone with his training club and could become a senior international.