It's been a meteoric rise for Matteo Guendouzi.
The 20-year-old was initially due to continue his key role in France Under-21s' Euro qualifying campaign this week but after Paul Pogba was withdrawn through injury, our midfielder was rewarded for his fine form with a first call-up to the senior side.
Guendouzi now has the opportunity to win his first cap against Albania on Saturday or Andorra on Monday, a feat which will top off a whirlwind week.
"I was taking a nap and someone knocked on my door. I didn't answer because I was sleeping," the midfielder told FFF TV. "Then my phone rang and it was the coach on the phone.
"He said, 'It's me, I knocked' and so on. Obviously then I opened the door straight away and then he said, 'Matteo, come here, we need to talk'. He said, 'I like you very much but you have to leave'. And I said, 'What do you mean I have to leave? What do you mean?' He said, 'Actually you're going with the France senior team'.
"In my mind, it was like... at first I couldn't believe it. Ten minutes before, I was asleep - I thought I was still in a dream. The coach and I, we had a good talk. He explained it well. That's it, he told me I was in the senior side. It's a dream, I'm just glad I showered for the sake of my awareness!
"It's a big surprise for me. It's been a dream since I was a kid. It's something extraordinary. I think any French player would want to play for this national team, it's something huge. What I'm going through is really something extraordinary. I'm the happiest person in the world.
"I'm joining the world champions and it's just exceptional. I'm going to learn a lot with them, with the staff, and it's going to be very rewarding for me."
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