Matteo Guendouzi has replaced Paul Pogba in the French senior squad for the international break after the Manchester United man had to pull out with injury.

The FFF announced on Monday afternoon that Pogba wouldn’t be able to take part in the upcoming fixtures, despite initially being named in the squad.

Guendouzi, who was meant to be joining Sylvain Ripoll’s u21 side over the break, will instead step up to Didier Deschamps’ first-team setup. France face Albania (Saturday) and Andorra (Tuesday) in UEFA Euro 2020 qualifiers – both at 19:45 BST.

Speaking about the call-up, Guendouzi admitted he thought he was still dreaming at first.

“I was having an afternoon nap, someone knocked at my door, but I didn’t hear it, because I was asleep,” Guendouzi told the FFF (via GFFN). “Then the coach (Sylvain Ripoll) rang me, he said it was me who knocked etc, so I went to see him directly.

“He said: “We need to speak, I really like you, but you need to go.” I was confused, I was like, where? He said: “The A-team.” In my head, I was like ‘wow’, I didn’t believe it initially because 10 minutes earlier I was sleeping. I thought I was still in a dream.

“This is a dream of mine since I was a kid. This is extraordinary, I think that any French player would want to be in this team. It is ginormous. There aren’t enough words to describe how it feels.”

It turns out Guendouzi could hardly have picked a better time to have one of his best games for Arsenal than this weekend. With the way the midfielder played against Tottenham Hotspur, it’s no surprise he was first in line when Pogba pulled out.

Guendouzi admitted last December that it was his ‘dream’ and his ‘objective’ to play for the French senior side, despite the Moroccan Federation pushing for him to join them instead.

At this point, the decision is made, and Guendouzi has almost achieved his objective. He just needs to impress in training and try and get some minutes on the pitch this week.