Pablo Pagis had never been called up by France. On Friday, Zinedine Zidane changed that — handing the uncapped Paris FC forward a place in the squad for the Nations League games against Italy and Turkey. So who is he?
Pagis, 23, is an attacking midfielder and forward who joined Paris FC from Lorient this summer. He becomes the first Paris FC player called up by France since Louis Floch and Jean-Paul Rostagni in May 1973 — a 53-year wait that the club marked with pride in Paris FC's own announcement. France travel to Milan to face Italy on Thursday, November 12 before hosting Turkey in Bordeaux on November 15, with a point enough to reach the quarter-finals.
His chance opened when Maghnes Akliouche of Paris Saint-Germain was injured. Zidane explained the thinking himself: "He is in the squad because we have a little problem with Akliouche, and so we needed to choose another player. Pablo was part of the long list and he is a player I want to see. He is interesting, different." The full squad story is in Flashscore's report of Zidane's squad announcement.
From a Famous Name to His Own Story
The surname is familiar for a reason: Pablo is the son of Mickaël Pagis, the former Marseille forward. But the younger Pagis has built his own path — trained at Rennes, then blossoming at Lorient before Paris FC brought him to the capital this summer to play under Liam Rosenior, in a Paris side sitting fourth in Ligue 1. The kind of rise we track across the division in our Ligue 1 coverage and the Brest win over Lyon — a league where a good autumn can change a career.
The form line backs the call. Per the Associated Press report carried across North America, Pagis has two goals and one assist this season, can play up front, on the wing or as a No. 10, and is good with both feet. He scored in Paris FC's 3-1 win over Monaco last Sunday — his 12th Ligue 1 goal — in front of the kind of audience that turns long-list names into squad names.
So What Does It Mean?
Pagis joins a front line headlined by the returning Kylian Mbappé, with Marcus Thuram, Ibrahima Konaté and Aurélien Tchouaméni also back, while Ousmane Dembélé is among the absentees. Nobody expects him to start in Milan. But Zidane's phrase — "a player I want to see" — matters: this is an audition at Clairefontaine as much as a call-up, and a debut cameo in either game would make him Paris FC's first France international in over half a century.
Beyond the Final Whistle verdict: every great France squad has one name nobody predicted, and Pagis has earned his surprise. He may be one injury away from a debut — but he is in the room on merit, and Zidane does not hand out "different" as a compliment lightly.
Will Pagis make his France debut this month — and should Zidane cap him against Italy or Turkey? Have your say in the comments.
