Being called up for international duty in this day and age seems easier than ever before, with players seemingly being named for the first-time every slate of national fixtures, except if you play for France.
The reigning World Cup champions are a well-oiled machine, with France manager Didier Deschamps overseeing one of the most talented nations in the world and bringing in the trophies to back it up, yet when it comes to his squad selections, they are some of the most predictable in the world game.
Les Bleus have a mentality of keeping the same core group of players together in the national team, and although they are not the only country to do this, it does lead to some problems within the squad that infuriate fans, namely in-form names not being called up, and this September has just seen that.
Olivier Giroud was called up yet again to the France squad despite not scoring a Premier League goal since last April as numbers from Transfermarkt show, leading many to believe why Sebastien Haller had not received the nod ahead of the now 32-year-old striker.
Indeed, the West Ham attacker, who has already scored three goals this season, has freely admitted that he wants to play for France one day, saying to The Daily Star: “I would like to play for France. You never know what can happen but it is not possible for the moment. I think it is about the profile. I need to get my statistics up and score goals. I did it in Holland. I did it in Germany. Now I want to do it in England. Just to prove to myself and show I can be effective.”
Although Haller has never represented France at any age group, it is still damming to see Deschamps completely ignore the West Ham striker for the September international fixtures, with Arsenal fans equally as annoyed as West Ham supporters as Alexandre Lacazette was also not chosen by the Les Bleus manager as reported by Football London.
However, there is hope, as there always is in football. With Giroud not starting regularly for Chelsea and Haller continuing to impress in the Premier League, there is a chance that the West Ham striker could be selected for the France squad heading into EURO 2020.
With the Blues’ attacker seemingly feeling the effects of age, Haller could capitalise on Giroud’s decrease in ability and athleticism, and use it as his platform to impress Deschamps and win his spot for next summer’s European competition.
