Marseille's Francois Mughe to snub Cameroon's AFCON 2023 call-up

Francois Mughe plays for Marseille in France

Cameroon youngster Francois Mughe will miss the upcoming African Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2023. The 19-year-old was a part of Cameroon’s 27-man squad for the tournament starting next week.

Mughe is yet to be capped by the national team and has struggled for game time at Marseille. Despite a recent contract extension until 2028, Mughe is by no means a guaranteed starter in the Marseille team. He has played only seven matches and a total of two hundred and one minutes in all competitions.

However, he nonetheless earned a place in Rigobert Song’s AFCON squad, and the expectation was that Mughe would join the pre-season training camp in Jeddah.

Ultimately, Mughe will not make the trip but instead remain in France. With Iliman Ndiaye, Ismaïla Sarr, Amine Harit and Azzedine Ounahi all going off to represent their countries at AFCON, Mughe smells the scent of an opportunity to make his way into Gennaro Gattuso’s plans. 

Marseille said that the player decided to remain at the club, adding that no game-time guarantees have been provided. Mughe isn’t the only player in France to refuse an AFCON call-up. Stade Lavallois’ Mamadou Samassa (33) refused his call-up to the Mali squad. 

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The Cameroonian Federation is yet to formally respond to Mughe’s decision. One of the options available to them is to file a formal complaint to FIFA against the player for a possible suspension.

François Mughe could therefore be at the disposal of OM, who will face Thionville this weekend, in the 32nd final of the Coupe de France, before hosting Strasbourg in Ligue 1 

Cameroon are a part of Group C in the upcoming AFCON 2023. They play Guinea in their tournament opener. This will be followed by a match against the defending champions, Senegal. Cameroon’s final match will be against Gambia.

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