France U-21 head coach, Thierry Henry, has named Crystal Palace winger Michael Olise and Chelsea midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu to his star-studded 25-man preliminary list for this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris.
Olise and Ugochukwu are of Nigerian descent and are still eligible to represent Nigeria’s Super Eagles even after the Olympics.
Olise enjoyed a stellar campaign for Palace in the Premier League this season, finishing with ten goals and six assists in 19 matches, while Ugochukwu has managed only 15 appearances for Chelsea since his move last summer from Rennes.
👨🎨 A 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩 of 2️⃣5️⃣ names 📋
Here are the players called up by Thierry Henry to prepare for the 𝙊𝙡𝙮𝙢𝙥𝙞𝙘 𝙂𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙨 🇫🇷👊#BleuCollectif pic.twitter.com/dw6wlH7Tg1
— French Team ⭐⭐ (@FrenchTeam) June 3, 2024
Henry has also named experienced Olympique Lyon forward Alexandre Lacazette and Crystal Palace top scorer Jean-Philippe Mateta to the squad as the over-age players.
Also called upon are the Paris Saint-Germain duo of Warren Zaire-Emery and Bradley Barcola; Lucas Chevalier, Leny Yoro and Bafode Diakite of Lille; Rennes’ Adrien Truffert, Desire Doue and Arnaud Kalimuendo.
There is still a spot opened for an overage player, with Henry reportedly still chasing one of Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann, or Aurelien Tchouameni.
France are drawn in Group A alongside the United States, Guinea, and New Zealand for the men’s football event at the Olympics and they will begin preparations for the Games on Sunday, June 16.
Full Squad
Goalkeepers: Lucas Chevalier, Guillaume Restes, Obed Nkambadio and Robin Risser.
Defenders: Bafode Diakite, Leny Yoro, Maxime Esteve, Bradley Locko, Castello Lukeba, Kiliann Sildillia and Adrien Truffert.
Midfielders: Maghnes Akliouche, Joris Chotard, Desire Doue, Manu Kone, Khephren Thuram, Enzo Millot, Lesley Ugochukwu and Warren Zaire-Emery.
Attackers: Arnaud Kalimuendo, Alexandre Lacazette (overage), Bradley Barcola, Jean-Philippe Mateta (overage), Michael Olise and Mathys Tel.
