Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Yves Bissouma has unfollowed the Malian Football Federation page on Instagram and deleted all his pictures in Mali jersey after he was not invited by head coach Eric Chelle to the squad during the current window, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
The 27-year-old played the entire 90 minutes in only one of Mali’s five games at the 2023 AFCON. Bissouma was an unused substitute against Burkina Faso in the round of 16 and played just 30 minutes in the crucial quarter-finals defeat to Ivory Coast.
In the first international window after the AFCON, Chelle did not invite Bissouma for Mali’s friendly games against Mauritania and Nigeria.
When Chelle was quizzed to give reasons why Bissouma was not selected the head coach said it was just a choice.
“Like many players, he deserves to be selected, it’s just a choice.
“In my diamond, there are players right now who are slightly safer. That doesn’t mean he won’t be called again.”
The head coach’s words did nothing to suggest that the midfielder would not enter the first team anymore, as indeed, Mali has a plethora of central midfielders with the likes of Amadou Haidara, Diadie Samasseko, Aliou Dieng, Kalifa Coulibaly and Mohamed Camara among many others.
It remains unknown whether Bissouma will be recalled back to the team in June when Mali returns to competitive action against Ghana for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
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