Any hopes Axel Disasi had of forcing his way into the France squad for the 2026 World Cup may have dissipated now; Didier Deschamps making it clear exactly how far the West Ham United loanee has fallen down the pecking order.
The Chelsea misfit arrived at the London Stadium with plenty of pedigree.
Disasi was a World Cup finalist with France in 2022, and had played plenty of European games both with the Stamford Bridge outfit and Principality powerhouses Monaco. West Ham United’s deadline day signing also has five caps for his country.
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No small feat, given the enviable collection of star centre-backs available to Didier Deschamps.
A second successive World Cup spot looks destined to pass Axel Disasi by, however.
West Ham United loanee Axel Disasi left out by France again
Disasi had a rare off-day in Sunday’s defeat by Aston Villa. Just to worsen his mood, Deschamps then responded to William Saliba pulling out of the March internationals by calling up Crystal Palace stopper Maxence Lacroix in his place.
Per The Mirror, Disasi has not given up hope of forcing his way into the France squad again, having made a brief cameo appearance in that remarkable final defeat to Argentina in Qatar four years ago.
But if you add Lacroix, Saliba and the injured Jules Kounde to Dayot Upamecano, Ibrahima Konate, Lucas Hernandez and Pierre Kalulu – all of whom were called up by Deschamps this month – Disasi is, at best, France’s eighth-choice centre-half.
And we say ‘at best’ because Clement Lenglet, Loic Bade, Benjamin Pavard, Wesley Fofana and Leny Yoro have also earned call-ups since Disasi last featured for Les Bleus in November 2023.
Disasi had not given up hope of a World Cup spot this summer
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“I was not thinking about the World Cup when I was playing in Monaco [in 2022]! I was just playing my games, performing, that’s it,” Disasi recently told West Ham’s Ironcast podcast.” It was not on my mind. I was not like, ‘I have to go to the World Cup, I have to go to the World Cup.’
“So at the moment, I know that at the end of the season is the World Cup, but I just want to focus on [being] here.
“You know how football works; if you’re good [you might get a chance].”
Right now though, it appears even saving West Ham from relegation would not be enough to overhaul all of those centre-halves currently ahead of him in Deschamps’ packed backline.
Elsewhere, Mateus Fernandes could make his Portugal debut against Mexico on Sunday. Jarrod Bowen is in the England roster, while Tomas Soucek, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Mads Hermansen have World Cup play-offs looming.
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