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Wesley Fofana earns first senior France call-up for Euro 2024 qualifiers

Wesley Fofana earns first senior France call-up for Euro 2024 qualifiers
© Reuters
Wesley Fofana, Khephren Thuram and Brice Samba earn their maiden call-ups for the senior France team for their upcoming Euro 2024 qualifiers.

Chelsea's Wesley Fofana, Nice's Khephren Thuram and Lens goalkeeper Brice Samba have all earned their maiden call-ups for the senior France team for their upcoming Euro 2024 qualifiers.

The beaten World Cup finalists will begin their bid to make the next continental tournament against the Netherlands on March 24 before taking on the Republic of Ireland in Group B three days later.

While Didier Deschamps has named a largely recognisable squad from the team that boarded the plane to Qatar, Fofana and Thuram have both been rewarded for their impressive recent form with senior call-ups.

Fofana's development has been consistently disrupted by injury during his time at Leicester City and Chelsea, but the 22-year-old has since regained his place in Graham Potter's backline.

The 22-year-old, who earned seven caps at Under-21 level, scored the winner in a 1-0 victory over Leeds United on March 4 as the Blues embark on a mini-revival under Potter.

As well as Fofana, Nice lynchpin Thuram - the son of Bleus legend Lilian Thuram - is also in line for a first senior appearance after continuing his breakthrough in Didier Digard's Nice team.

Khephren Thuram for Nice in November 2022© Reuters

The 21-year-old - a 14-cap France Under-21 international - has two goals and seven assists from 37 matches in the 2022-23 season, starting 22 Ligue 1 matches and helping Les Aiglons go unbeaten in their last 10 top-flight games.

Thuram has also started all seven of Nice's Europa Conference League games so far this term, as Digard's side go into Thursday's last-16 second leg against Sheriff Tiraspol holding a 1-0 advantage.

Finally, Hugo Lloris's retirement has opened up a spot for Samba to force his way into the ranks, with the 28-year-old shining for Ligue 1 podium hopefuls Lens since arriving from Nottingham Forest.

Samba - who never earned a cap for France at youth level - has kept 10 clean sheets in 27 top-flight contests for Les Sang et Or this term, only behind Gianluigi Donnarumma (11) and Yehvann Diouf (12).

Samba joins Alphonse Areola and the now-recovered Mike Maignan as Deschamps's goalkeeping options, but there are few surprises elsewhere, as Olivier Giroud, Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann all take up places in the attacking ranks.

Ousmane Dembele misses out due to injury, while Matteo Guendouzi has also been dropped from the squad after playing one game at the 2022 World Cup.


FRANCE SQUAD IN FULL:

Goalkeepers: Alphonse Areola (West Ham United), Mike Maignan (AC Milan), Brice Samba (Lens)

Defenders: Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid), Wesley Fofana (Chelsea), Theo Hernandez (AC Milan), Ibrahima Konate (Liverpool), Jules Kounde (Barcelona), Benjamin Pavard (Bayern Munich), William Saliba (Arsenal), Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich)

Midfielders: Youssouf Fofana (Monaco), Adrien Rabiot (Juventus), Aurelien Tchouameni (Real Madrid), Jordan Veretout (Marseille), Khephren Thuram (Nice)

Forwards: Kingsley Coman (Bayern Munich), Olivier Giroud (AC Milan), Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid), Randal Kolo Muani (Frankfurt), Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain), Marcus Thuram (Borussia Monchengladbach), Moussa Diaby (Bayer Leverkusen)

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