Pablo Pagis (23) has revealed that he isn’t surprised by his maiden call-up to the France squad. The Paris FC playmaker has been rewarded for his consistency and creativity, firstly with FC Lorient and then with Les Parisiens since making his summer move.

Pagis is the benefactor of some injuries in the France squad. Ousmane Dembélé is a notable absentee, as are Maghnes Akliouche and Esteban Lepaul, both of whom featured in Zinédine Zidane’s first squad. Pagis was well placed to profit.

His start-of-season form has been excellent, even though statistically, it has only yielded two goals and two assists in 10 games in Ligue 1. He spoke following Paris FC’s win over AJ Auxerre on Saturday and said that his call-up to Les Bleus did not come as a surprise.

“My family are proud of me. It is something that I expected, even if it maybe happened a bit sooner than planned,” said the No.10. “I was in the expanded squad so I expected it a bit,” he added in his interview with Ligue 1 Plus.

He will now hope to seize his chance with Les Bleus. Zidane’s men will face Italy and Turkiye in the UEFA Nations League during the international break.