Loan Merrifield selected for the U17 World Cup in Qatar

José Alcocer has selected Nantes player Loan Merrifield among the 21 players who will compete in the U17 World Cup. The competition will begin in Qatar on November 12. According to But! Football Club, the young forward will join the host country on November 15 to begin preparations for the tournament.

The Bleuets' schedule

France will begin its group stage on November 19 with a match against Haiti. The schedule will continue on November 22 against Saudi Arabia, before a final group match scheduled for November 25 against Uruguay. According to But! Football Club, the competition will run until December 13, 2026.

Absences and other call-ups

L'Équipe reports that the list unveiled Wednesday evening by José Alcocer does not include Paris player David Boly, nor Lyon's Adil Hamdani. Furthermore, But! Football Club indicates that Tom Raiani, a left-back for FC Nantes, has been called up to join the France U19 team.

Situation at FC Nantes

According to But! Football Club, these two international players are not yet getting playing time under the management of Grégory Poirier within the professional squad. The media outlet questions the reasons why the Nantes coach is not granting more opportunities to these talents coming from the club's youth academy.