The successive withdrawals of Jules Koundé, Dayot Upamecano, then Axel Disasi (himself injured when he had been called in to replace Upamecano) made two happy Monday. Trained at Olympique Lyonnais and transferred this year to Chelsea and RB Leipzig respectively, Malo Gusto and Castello Lukeba (20 years old) have just received their first call-up to the French A football team. Initially selected by Thierry Henry with the Hopes, the two young defenders are therefore reaching a great milestone.
In a right-back position where the competition is not crazy among the Blues (a mild euphemism), Malo Gusto has a chance to play, while Didier Deschamps’ gang will face the Netherlands on Friday (8:45 p.m. ) in Amsterdam as part of qualifying for Euro 2024, then Scotland, on Tuesday October 17, in a friendly in Lille. Not selected in recent months by DD, Marseillais Jonathan Clauss is the other option on the list in this specific defensive position.
“I was getting ready to come with the Espoirs and I received a little phone call on the train to tell me that I was with the A,” smiles Malo Gusto in a video posted by the French team account on social networks. It’s a source of pride, the objective is to stay there. I worked for it. » A goal shared by his ex-OL teammate Castello Lukeba, author of an express adaptation to the Bundesliga with RB Leipzig, as central defender.