5 World Cup stars who could have played for France, but didn’t

#2 Kalidou Koulibaly (Senegal)

Deschamps was keen on calling up Koulibaly to the France squad

If Koulibaly did not choose to represent Senegal, then there is no doubt that he would have played for France at the World Cup.

In 2015, he chose to play for Senegal despite interest from France manager Didier Deschamps to call up the player to the French team.

The 27-year-old who has played 28 times for Senegal including at the World Cup, also represented France at the U20 level in 11 games.

Interestingly, after he made his debut for Senegal, Deschamps sent scouts to watch the player in action without realising that he is no longer eligible to play for France.

"I heard that a member of the French national team’s scouting team came to watch Napoli against Empoli recently but I thought it was for [Empoli’s Vincent] Laurini who is also French.

"When I arrived at Napoli, I knew that there would be an opening. I waited for a long time for my chance [with France] and I decided to play for Senegal. It was a choice from the heart and I’ve no regrets."