France are the defending world champions, but they head to Qatar with a laundry list of injury absentees, with Kanté and Pogba first among them. Monaco man Fofana starred on his debut against Austria last month, though, which will have come as a relief to head coach Didier Deschamps.

Until the tournament kicks off on 20 November, Fofana will hope to keep impressing for Monaco, for whom he has shone, perhaps even brighter, since the €100 million departure Aurélien Tchouaméni to Real Madrid in the summer.

Back story:

Fofana was born in Paris in on 10 January 1999, but like so many young stars born in the French capital, he had to cast his net further than Paris Saint-Germain in order to get his break in the game.

After being released by the national academy at Clairefontaine aged 13, he bounced around at Red Star FC and JA Drancy before being picked up by RC Strasbourg Alsace in 2017. Le Racing handed him his Ligue 1 Uber Eats debut a year later, in a 1-0 win over FC Metz.

After an impressive season-and-a-half in the Strasbourg first team, Monaco made their move in January 2020, signing Fofana and Tchouaméni from Strasbourg and Girondins de Bordeaux respectively for a combined €35 million, and the pair quickly formed one of the most formidable double pivots in France.

Eligible to play for both the Côte d'Ivoire and Mali through his parentage, Fofana made his full France debut in the 2-0 win over Austria last month, and now looks like an increasingly safe bet to be on the plane to Qatar.

Style of play:

Fofana is a powerfully-built 5'9" midfielder who is an asset to Monaco and France on both sides of the ball. A box-to-box midfielder who is equally happy anchoring play, Fofana has averaged three tackles won per game in Ligue 1 Uber eats over the last year, but also six progressive passes. He also won 12 of his 14 duels on his France debut.

Current campaign:

Fofana has been paired with Mohamed Camara in central midfield since Tchouaméni's departure, and they have also struck up a quick understanding at the Stade Louis II. They combined beautifully as Monaco became the first side to take a point off PSG in Round 4.

No midfielder has played more minutes for Monaco than Fofana, who has started 11 of Monaco's 12 games this season whilst posting those aforementioned stats. He also bagged his first Monaco goal in Round 5, but unfortunately for him the principality side were upset by ESTAC Troyes.

Watch: Highlights of Monaco's 1-1 draw at PSG

What they said:

"He's very nice! To annoy him, you have to do something really bad. Even when things go badly, he always looks at the positives. Having the trust of a coach is always important for a player. When he arrived, he came to me and said: 'I don't want a player-coach relationship with you'. I think that was the case with a lot of players who had lost a bit of confidence."

- Fofana telling the Ligue 1 Show on beIN SPORTS about hisu relationship with Monaco coach Philippe Clément

"When I learned that I was called up I said to myself '10 years later I've walked back through the front door at Clairefontaine, having left it through the back door', and that's good! When the coaches saw me, they were happy. They told me 'thank you for proving us wrong'."

- Fofana on his recent France call-up.