Andy Diouf and Guillaume Restes, two new France internationals turning their backs on African national teams

Zinédine Zidane’s first squad includes five new players called up to the France senior team. Among them, Andy Diouf and Guillaume Restes both have links to Africa, but in different contexts. The Inter Milan midfielder has family ties to Senegal, while the Toulouse goalkeeper is described by several specialised databases as Franco-Ivorian.

Andy Diouf’s case is the best documented. The midfielder had been contacted by the Senegalese Football Federation while continuing his career with the French youth teams.

In September 2023, in an interview with RFI, Diouf explained that Senegal had contacted him, his adviser and his family. At the time, he expressed his attachment to both countries, while indicating that he wanted to continue with France after playing in the various French youth categories.

“They wanted me to represent Senegal,” he said, before explaining that he first wanted to reach the under-21s and then the France senior team.

Three years later, that objective takes on a different dimension with his first call-up to the France senior team. The FFF records, in particular, 18 appearances for the under-19s, 6 for the under-20s, 10 for the under-21s, 3 for the under-23s and 2 for the Olympic team for the player now established at Inter Milan.

Guillaume Restes, a less-documented Franco-Ivorian profile

For Guillaume Restes, the available information is less precise. Born in Toulouse, the goalkeeper has always represented France at youth level. The FFF records, in particular, 6 matches with the under-17s, 2 with the under-18s, 4 with the under-23s and 19 with the under-21s. He also won the silver medal with the French Olympic team at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Several specialised databases describe him as holding French and Ivorian nationality. Transfermarkt, in particular, lists him as Franco-Ivorian and mentions possible eligibility to represent Ivory Coast.

However, this information is less publicly substantiated than Andy Diouf’s Senegalese connection. The FFF’s official profile mentions only his French nationality and provides no details about any possible Ivorian family origins.

Zidane’s call-up therefore places both players at a new stage of their international careers, but their situations are not identical. Diouf publicly explained in 2023 that he had been approached by Senegal before choosing to continue his career with France. In Restes’ case, possible eligibility for Ivory Coast is mentioned by several specialised databases, without any comparable public evidence confirming that he was approached by the Ivorian Football Federation.

Both players are now included in Zidane’s first squad. Their arrival in the senior team extends careers built so far with the French youth teams, in two different situations regarding their links to Africa.

Nouya M'toama

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Versatile journalist specializing in sports and political news, with extensive experience across radio, print and digital media platforms.

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