Didier Deschamps announced last Thursday the new list of the French team for the October gathering as part of the qualifications for the 2026 World Cup. This is marked by the great first of Jean-Philippe Mateta with the first team, the return of Eduardo Camavinga, but also that of Christopher Nkunku with the Blues, almost a year after his last selection (in November 2024). After a lackluster spell at Chelsea (2023-2025), where he played very little, 18 goals in 62 games, the French international will still have won two titles: the Club World Cup and the Conference League. Absent from Enzo Maresca's plans in London, he flew to Milan this summer for around 45 million euros, where he found his teammates in blue: Adrien Rabiot, Mike Maignan and Youssouf Fofana.
Asked at a press conference about his strong choice to select Christopher Nkunku, who had just arrived in Serie A, Didier Deschamps praised the merits of his player: “Christopher?” He was not spared from injuries. He has very interesting potential, I am convinced of his qualities. He has limited playing time at the moment because of his change of club, but I have confidence in him. For example, when Giroud was at Chelsea, it was very complicated, but that didn't stop him from being very good with us. » Considered a player with high potential despite his 27 years, Christopher Nkunku will have a lot to play during this October gathering, where he will also return to the Parc des Princes on Friday. Indeed, like Mateta, Thauvin and Coman, Nkunku has many reasons to believe in his chances for the 2026 World Cup.
A revenge to take after the injuries
Selected for the 2022 World Cup after an extraordinary season in Leipzig (35 goals and 16 assists), Nkunku was finally deprived of the World Cup due to injury. Until now, when he was available, which is still rare, the AC Milan player has often been part of Didier Deschamps' plans, despite his 14 small selections and his only goal against Israel in the Nations League during the victory of the Blues (1-4) in 2024. His new situation, already a scorer in Serie A, and an important player in Allegri's squad, can open the doors to his first major competition with the France team. Despite competition with players with a similar profile like Cherki, Olise, Akliouche or even Doué, if he performs, he will have every reason to be there.
His new teammate at Milan, and former teammate at Paris Saint-Germain, Adrien Rabiot was also complimentary towards him in an interview with the Gazzetta dello Sport : “He is an excellent player, efficient in front of goal, technically solid, capable of breaking through and coming back to score. Allegri is delighted to have him. It is an additional offensive weapon which will be essential in the race for the Scudetto. He came in a bit behind and it will take time for him to recover, but he has already shown some interesting things against a different group of players: Pulisic, Leao himself and even the oft-criticized Gimenez. Santi gives 100% in training and in matches. He has the right mentality, he just needs to get going. Overall, Milan are a great team, maybe a little behind in defense in case of injury”.
Mandatory performance against Azerbaijan and Iceland
We can think that the situation of Thauvin, or even that of Mateta, in the shadow of ultra competition, with Marcus Thuram, Kolo Muani and now Hugo Ekitike in the number 9 position, is much more complex than that of Christopher Nkunku. During his last call-up, last November, Deschamps insisted on his desire to see him perform over time with the tricolor jersey:“He hasn't been here for a while because he unfortunately suffered a lot of injuries which prevented him from having continuity. He doesn't have excessive playing time at Chelsea, but he has plenty of energy every time he plays. In his progress, injuries were a major obstacle. Being rid of that, and stringing together good performances and playing time, should allow him to return to his best level.”
Besides the phenomenon of competition, which is certainly very fierce, it is on the field that everything will be played out for Christopher Nkunku. And it is therefore during the next two matches against Azerbaijan this Friday and against Iceland next Monday that Christopher Nkunku will have to respond. In the absence of Marcus Thuram, Doué, Barcola, Cherki, and Dembélé, in Didier Deschamps' latest list, he will necessarily have to perform, if he wants to return to Clairefontaine for the November rally, then next June to be in the famous coach's list. The cards are now in his hands.
