Alphonse Areola has been included in the France squad for two international fixtures to be played in September.
The in-form West Ham United goalkeeper has been outstanding in the Irons’ opening three Premier League matches, helping his side claim two victories and seven points by making 16 saves, including a penalty stop from Enzo Fernández in a home win over Chelsea and nine saves in a Man of the Match performance in a victory at Brighton & Hove Albion.
Areola has been a regular member of the France squad since 2017, was part of the groups which won the FIFA World Cup in 2018 and reached the final in 2022, and has been capped five times since debuting in a friendly against Germany in September 2018.
Five years on and the 30-year-old could face the same opposition again in the second of two internationals during the first break of the 2023/24 season.
Didier Deschamps’ side first host the Republic of Ireland in a UEFA Euro 2024 Group B qualifier at the Parc des Princes in Paris – the stadium Areola called home during his time with Paris Saint-Germain – on Thursday 7 September at 7.45pm BST.
Les Bleus sit top of Group B with a perfect four wins from four and 12 points. Dinos Mavropanos’s Greece sit second on six points from three games played, with Ireland and the Netherlands on three points and Gibraltar on zero.
France then travel to Dortmund to take on Germany in a friendly international at Signal Iduna Park on Tuesday 12 September at 7.45pm BST.
Both matches will be broadcast and streamed live in the UK by Viaplay Sports 2.
