Hugo Ekitike made his debut for France off the bench against Ukraine on Friday after Cameroon’s manager claimed he “didn’t succeed” in playing for Didier Deschamps.
Liverpool’s No. 22 was not initially named in France’s squad for this month’s World Cup qualifiers, but was drafted in following the withdrawal of Man City‘s Rayan Cherki.
It was his first call-up to the senior set-up, following a bright start to life at Liverpool, and he made his debut off the bench and saw out the final nine minutes of France’s 2-0 win.
He might have only managed three touches, but he is now capped at international level and defied Cameroon manager Marc Brys after he said he “didn’t succeed” in trying to play for France.
Ekitike, who was eligible to represent Cameroon through his father, played for France at youth level and was the focus of Brys’ indignation late last month.
• READ: Alexander Isak doesn’t play for Sweden – manager explains why
“I haven’t contacted him,” Brys said of Ekitike in a press conference. “He put all his money into trying to play for France and he didn’t succeed.
“And now we, Cameroon, are his second choice? I don’t need to be a second choice.
“He’s a good player, that’s not the issue. In the situation I described, he doesn’t deserve to come here.”
Brys closed the door on pursuing the striker, but Ekitike’s appearance for France makes his declaration moot as he has now played a competitive match after turning 21 – making him ineligible to switch.
It removes the possibility of the 23-year-old missing parts of the season due to the Africa Cup of Nations, which will see Mohamed Salah miss games later this year in December and January.
Ekitike’s cap will be one of many for the young striker, who briefly shared the pitch with Liverpool teammate Ibrahima Konate in the 2-0 win over Ukraine.
The centre-back made an impressive goal-line clearance on the night and finished with the joint-most aerial duels won (3/3) and operated with 91% accuracy on the ball (48/53), as per FotMob.
Ekitike will hope for another opportunity when France host Iceland on Tuesday.
Fan Comments