Three months after the conclusion of the 2022 Qatar World Cup, a handful of young AS Monaco players have been called up to represent their countries on the international stage once more.
Having come so close to lifting the World Cup trophy with France, Monaco midfielder Youssouf Fofana will return to playing with ‘Les Bleus’. Fofana has been included in Didier Deschamp’s star-studded 23 man list, which include former Monaco phenoms Kylian Mbappe and Aurelian Tchouameni. The latter will be reunited with Fofana, having formed a fruitful friendship in the Principality side’s midfield ahead of his departure to Real Madrid last summer.
The first two fixtures of the 2024 Euro qualifiers will see the ‘Tricolores’ first host the Netherlands on Friday, March 24, at the Stade de France before travelling to Ireland for another match three days later, on Monday, March 27. Alongside the Dutch and the Irish, the French team will be joined by Greece and Gibraltar in qualifying group B, of which France must finish in the top two places to qualify for the Euro tournament.
Joining Fofana in the European tournament is Breel Embolo, who is making a deserved return to Switzerland’s national team, having scored twice for the Swiss in the World Cup. So far this season, the standout striker has already recorded 12 goals with Monaco, his career high in a single season that is not over yet.
Embolo will no doubt prove useful on the offensive front when Switzerland face Belarus in Serbia on Saturday, March 25, before hosting Israel in Geneva three days later, on Tuesday March 28. The Swiss find themselves in the comfortable group I, which is also made up of Andorra, Kosovo and Romania.
Taking part in a different tournament will be Krepin Diatta, Ismail Jakobs and Mohamed Camara, who will all represent their respective countries at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. Representing Senegal will be Diatta and Jakobs, while Camara will return to playing with Mali.