World Cup in Qatar 2022: a World Cup with 60 players … born in France, a record

Didier Deschamps announced a list of 26 players who will represent the colors of France. They will however be 60 footballers born in France to tread Qatari lawns.

In addition to the 23 born in France in the list of Blues, all except Mandanda (Congo), Camavinga (Angola) and Thuram (Italy), Senegal and Tunisia have the most players who were born in France (10 ). Among Senegalese born and raised in France are Chelsea goalkeeper and defender Edouard Mendy and Kalidou Koulibaly. For the Tunisians, the midfielder Ellyes Shkiri grew up in Lunel (34) before coming to break through at the MHSC and is now playing in Cologne in Germany. His compatriot Wahbi Khazri grew up in Corsica.

47 in 2014, 50 in 2018

The Cameroonians have 8 “French” in their ranks, including Christopher Wooh (Rennes), Karl Toko-Ekambi (Lyon) and Georges-Kévin Nkoudou (Besiktas).

Then comes Ghana and its 4 players born in France, with the brothers Ayew, André and Jordan, sons of Abedi Pelé, born when their father played in France, in the 1990s. Also note Alexander Djiku (strasbourg), born in Montpellier of a Ghanaian father and a French mother, who touched his first soccer balls, in Castelnau-Le Crès (34).

Finally, Morocco, with Sofiane Boufal (Angers) and Romain Saîss (Wolverhampton), Portugal with Raphaêl Guerreiro (Dortmund) and Spain with Aymeric Laporte (Man.City) conclude this long list.

47 born on French soil during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, 50 in 2018, this year they are 60, which still confirms a little more, the weight of French football in the world chessboard.