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The French head coach commented on the decision to invite the Crystal Palace striker to the team.
The head coach of the French national team, Didier Deschamps, has announced some key decisions regarding the national team squad for the matches against Azerbaijan (October 10) and Iceland (October 13) as part of the 2026 Championship qualifying round.
Idman.biz reports that Deschamps commented on Jean-Philippe Mate's first call-up, a Crystal Palace striker, and highlighted his playing qualities separately.
According to the expert, the selection is related to the striker's characteristics and ability to score goals:
"This is his profile... He has had the ability to score goals in every team he has been in. We have been following him for a long time. The decision to invite Mateta is related to the gaps in attack before the games against Azerbaijan and Iceland," Deschamps said in a statement to RMC Sport.
It should be noted that PSG players Usman Dembele and Desere Due are not included in the French national team - both will miss the October games due to injuries.
Deschamps also spoke about Eduardo Camavinga's role. When asked about the transfer of the Real Madrid player to the left wing defense, the head coach said:
"If you ask him, he probably won't smile. He mainly sees himself as a midfielder, but his universal playing ability is a great advantage for the national team," Deschamps emphasized.
Earlier, the expert, when evaluating the opponents of the French team in the 2026 World Cup qualifying round, said:
"Although we respect Azerbaijan and Iceland, our strongest opponent in the group is the Ukrainian national team."
It should be noted that the Azerbaijani national team will face the French national team in Paris on October 10 as part of Group D of the 2026 World Cup qualifying round. The game will start at 22:45 Baku time. In the current qualifying round, the Azerbaijani national team lost 0:5 to Iceland on the road and drew 1:1 at home against Ukraine.
It should be reminded that the Azerbaijani national team will play against France under the leadership of the new head coach Aykhan Abbasov. He has already been officially appointed as the head coach of the national team.
Teymur Tushiyev
