FLORENT MALOUDA: NATIONAL TEAM CAREER REVEALED

Former Chelsea and Lyon winger FlorentMalouda is one of a selected few players to have represented two countries. FlorentMalouda played for the French national team for several years earning 80 caps in the process and has also featured for French Guiana. Malouda scored nine goals in 80 appearances for Les Blues over an eight-year period between 2004 and 2012. The 40-year-old played his last game in international footballat Euro 2012 in the colours of Les Blues before returning to the international football scene five years later with French Guiana. FlorentMalouda decided to play for his home nation French Guiana, a non-FIFA association, in 2017. He was named in the squad for the CONCACAF Gold Cup that same year. He had already made his debut for French Guiana in a friendly against Barbados. His participation at the 2017 Gold Cup was in doubt after the ruling from CONCACAF that the player is ineligible according to FIFA rules. French Guiana still went ahead to field him in the goalless draw with Honduras and this led to the country forfeiting that game in favour of Honduras.


FlorentMalouda made his France debut against Poland in November 2004 and he had to wait until a year later to score his first goal for Les Blues during the match with Hungary. He was part of the French squad that won silver at the 2006 FIFA World Cup tournament in Germany after losing to Italy on penalties in the final. The two teams had played 1-1 until the end of extra time. Malouda won the penalty scored by Zinedine Zidane for the lone goal scored by the French team.FlorentMalouda was also part of the France squad that failed to qualify from the group stage at the 2010 FIFA World Cup tournament in South Africa. He scored one goal during that tournament on African soil.