Newcastle United winger Allan Saint-Maximin is targeting a France call-up ahead of the 2022 World Cup this winter, following his man-of-the-match performance against Manchester City.
Saint-Maximin was a livewire throughout, posing countless problems for Kyle Walker and producing a top-quality performance against one of Europe's big hitters.
The 25-year-old set up Newcastle's first two goals for Miguel Almiron and Callum Wilson respectively, before winning the free-kick which led to Kieran Trippier's third.
After the match, Saint-Maximin posted a highlight reel of his display against City on Instagram with a simple message.
"Only one thing in my mind, the World Cup. The support was amazing. We keep building," Saint-Maximin wrote on his Instagram account.
Saint-Maximin represented France at U16, U17, U20 and U21 level with future internationals such as Dayot Upamecano, Theo Hernandez and Ousmane Dembele. However, the Newcastle winger himself has never received a call-up from Didier Deschamps.
It is no surprise that he's struggled to receive a call-up with the plethora of talent at Deschamps' disposal. Saint-Maximin is vying for a place in the squad with the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann, Moussa Diaby, Kingsley Coman, Wissam Ben Yedder and Karim Benzema.
One player that Saint-Maximin has previously cited as a source of inspiration is RB Leipzig attacker Christopher Nkunku.
Nkunku, an academy product of Paris Saint-Germain, was sold by the French heavyweights after failing to break up the deadly trio of Angel Di Maria, Neymar and Mbappe.
His move to the Bundesliga provided him with a new lease of life. After gradually improving across his first two seasons with RB Leipzig, Nkunku was directly involved in a phenomenal 55 goals in 52 appearances last season.
The 24-year-old scored 35 goals and contributed a further 20 assists across all competitions. Nevertheless, it was only earlier this year that Nkunku was presented with his international bow by Deschamps.
Despite not reaching those heights in terms of numbers, Saint-Maximin has not set any limits on his future.
“We know the quality of the France team. There are players of very, very high level,” Saint-Maximin told GOAL in May.
“We even see it with a player like Nkunku who performed really well, whether in the Champions League or at the club, who still took a lot of time before being called up.
“It means that the coach is very demanding, that it is not just a question of statistics or qualities. I also think the coach is thinking about how a new player will be able to incorporate himself into the group and how he will be able to help the France team play better football.
"So I think that when I have ticked all these boxes, maybe I will have the chance to finally be selected."
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