France have handed Senny Mayulu his first senior call-up after Aurélien Tchouaméni's withdrawal and a problem for Kylian Mbappé thinned Zinedine Zidane's options. The PSG youngster had originally been with the Under-21s, but the move up came as France prepared for Italy and Türkiye in the Nations League window.
The emergency move from the Under-21s
Zidane explained the promotion in comments to TuttoMercatoWeb, in comments translated from Italian: "The young midfielder had been called up with the Under-21s: the emergency pushes the coach to promote him to the first team."
That lines up with the basic sequence here. Mayulu was with the U21 group first, then moved into the senior camp when the squad picture changed. So Foot also reported that Mbappé was under a fitness cloud, while other coverage framed him as a likely absence. The only firm part is that France had to adjust and Mayulu was the player brought in.
Why Mayulu fit the call-up
The selection is not just a patch job. Mayulu has 4 league appearances, 2 goals and 2 assists for Paris Saint Germain, plus 3 appearances and 1 goal in the Champions League. Across his last 5 club matches, he has 3 goals and 2 assists, which is the kind of run that makes a sudden senior call-up look earned rather than random.
The 2006-born midfielder has already played almost 100 matches for his club, according to TuttoMercatoWeb, and that experience helps explain why Zidane felt comfortable turning to him now. France are also top of their Nations League group, so the call-up comes from a position of strength, not panic.
Written by Sam Whitfield with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 3 outlets. How we work →
