Reports | Matteo Guendouzi called up by France to replace Paul Pogba
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Matteo Guendouzi has been called up to the France national squad for the first time in his career with Paul Pogba stepping out after injuring his ankle during the Premier League weekend. The 20-year-old will get a chance to potentially earn his first cap for France in their Euro 2020 qualifiers.
France national team coach, Didier Deschamps, has confirmed that Paul Pogba has an "ankle problem", and has now given Matteo Guendouzi a chance to shine for his national team, reports the BBC. Les Blues will be facing Albania on Saturday before they face Andorra in their first batch of Euro 2020 qualifiers and the Arsenal midfielder might be given a chance to earn his first cap for the Les Bleus.
The 20-year-old has played a major part in Arsenal’s campaign and has only missed four minutes of action so far for the North London side. Guendouzi made his debut under Unai Emery in last season, seamlessly blending into the club’s midfield and has become an automatic starter for the club.Â
The Frenchman’s international debut, if he is played against either of the two teams which France will be facing, will be another feather in the cap of the midfielder who was playing in the French second division a little more than a year ago. Aymeric Laporte, Ousmane Dembele and Kylian Mbappe have also been ruled out of the qualifiers due to various injuries, while Guendouzi’s fellow Premier League players Lucas Digne, Olivier Giroud and Kurt Zouma have all earned call ups.
