Eli Junior Kroupi has received his first call up Zinedine Zidane’s France squad.The Bournemouth star will replace the injured Marcus Thuram for Les Bleus in the upcoming Nations League fixtures against Italy and Turkey.Kroupi Jr has been called up for Les Bleus senior duty for the first timeGettyHe was given the nod ahead of Everton‘s in-form striker Thierno Barry after recently making his return from injury.The news come just two week after the forward pledged his international allegiance to France.Born in France, his mother is of Portuguese descent whilst his father played for the Ivory Coast.Kroupi Jr was offered an opportunity to play for Portugal at the 2026 World Cup, but turned it down.“Junior wanted to represent France, so we respect that,” their former head coach Roberto Martinez said.The 20-year-old has also played at all youth levels from U16 to U21 for France, and is now aiming to represent them at senior level.Kroupi’s plan was always to play for France“I’ve always played for the French youth teams,” he told DAZN. “I was born in France, I started playing football in France.“I can’t see myself moving to a culture I don’t know! The French national team is the goal.”Kroupi Jr will be set to face strong competition for a starting role up front in the long term.Kylian Mbappe is their all-time record scorer on 67 goals and already won 107 caps at the age of 27.Kroupi Jr has made 39 appearances at youth level for France, but is yet to feature for the senior sideGettyMeanwhile, Ousmane Dembele is also a regular for France, and Hugo Ekitike is also an option despite his long injury lay-off.However, injuries to Thuram and Ousmane Dembele could see the forward handed his senior debut over the next week.Zidane also named Rennes star Esteban Lepaul, who netted 21 goals last season, in his first squad last month.Kroupi Jr has made four appearances for Bournemouth across all competitions so far this season.He had surgery on a foot injury in the summer, but is slowly returning to full fitness.Despite his call-up, Kroupi is yet to complete 90 minutes of football this term.