Former Chelsea and French international winger Florent Malouda will play for French Guiana in the upcoming CONCACAF Gold Cup.
The native of Cayenne, French Guiana is eligible to play for his native country since, as an overseas department of France, French Guiana are a member of CONCACAF, but are not recognized by FIFA. Malouda has already played twice for his homeland this year. His debut came in the 2017 Caribbean Cup semi-finals against Jamaica.
Malouda had a storied international career with France. He played in the 2006 World Cup Final, among his 80 caps, and he’s scored eight times for his country, including once in the 2010 World Cup.
He spent six seasons with Chelsea, where he helped the team in the 2012 UEFA Champions League Final and won four straight Ligue 1 titles with Olympique Lyonnais before that. He now plies his trade with Delhi Dynamos in the Indian Super League.
French Guiana is making its first ever appearance in the CONCACAF Gold Cup and will play in Group A against Honduras, Costa Rica, and Canada.
I’m cool with it. Tons of players switch to represent bigger nations in their teens & 20’s, so why not let these over-the-hill guys help out the minnows? If they’ve been out of international play for x number of years and are over 35 or so, let ’em make the switch
Malouda was a beast in his prime. Put some respect on his name guys.
Good on ya Malouda! Big ups for not forgetting where you come from and wearing the colors with pride. Now they won’t finish dead last at the GC. That is still reserved for Canada 😉
It’s this kind of thing why the Gold Cup can’t be taken serious.
I predict one of the more unknown or little known French/Dutch Caribbean “minnows” will take a big scalp in this years Gold Cup.
French Guiana, Martinique and Curacao’, who are not normal fixtures in Concacaf play, all have players in the various division in European Leagues, including some in the French Ligue 1. Curacao already beat Jamaica last week in the Caribbean Cup final.(Although it was the Jamaica “B” squad.
Curacao is a FIFA member, while the other two aren’t, but I do agree with you.
Not that Malouda will lead FG to glory or anything, but it’s hard to take tournaments with these non-FIFA regional sides at face value when there are teams that can skirt eligibility issues the others must follow.