PARIS (AP) — Uncapped Paris FC striker Pablo Pagis was surprisingly summoned by France on Friday for Nations League matches against Turkey and Italy.
Pagis made the 23-man list after Paris Saint-Germain forward Maghnes Akliouche was ruled out by a calf injury.
France coach Zinedine Zidane said Pagis has an "interesting" and “different profile” that he wants to assess.
France tops its group with 10 points from four games. It travels to Italy on Nov. 12 and hosts Turkey three days later.
Good with both feet and capable of playing up front, on the wing or as an attacking midfielder, Pagis joined Paris FC from Lorient this summer. He has two goals and one assist this season. The son of former pro Mickaël Pagis, he was trained at the Rennes academy then blossomed at Lorient.
Zidane needs to deal with a flurry of injuries as William Saliba, Jules Koundé, Maxence Lacroix, Manu Koné, Ousmane Dembélé and Esteban Lepaul have been ruled out. In that context, he said he could be tempted to use Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappé in his favorite No. 9 position.
Zidane also kept faith with new players he called in September after he replaced Didier Deschamps following the 2026 World Cup.
France:
Goalkeepers: Mike Maignan (AC Milan), Robin Risser (Lens), Guillaume Restes (Toulouse)
Defenders: Andy Diouf (Inter Milan), Jérémy Jacquet (Liverpool), Ibrahima Konaté (Real Madrid), Malo Gusto (Chelsea), Pierre Kalulu (Juventus), Adrien Truffert (Bournemouth), Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich), Leny Yoro (Manchester United)
Midfielders: Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid), Rayan Cherki (Manchester City), Lucas Da Cunha (Como), Adrien Rabiot (AC Milan), Aurélien Tchouaméni (Real Madrid), Warren Zaire-Emery (PSG).
Forwards: Bradley Barcola (Liverpool), Désiré Doué (PSG), Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid), Michael Olise (Bayern Munich), Marcus Thuram (Inter Milan), Pablo Pagis (Paris FC).
See AP’s full soccer coverage here
Paris FC's Pablo Pagis, left, and Monaco's Lamine Camara challenge for the ball during the French League One soccer match between Paris FC and Monaco in Paris, France, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Teresa Suarez)
ATLANTA (AP) — Zoo Atlanta’s newest pandas munched bamboo and lounged Friday during their public debut as smiling visitors lined up to welcome them.
Ping Ping, a male, and Fu Shuang, a female, arrived in September from China under a 10-year loan agreement, bringing the cuddly black-and-white bears back to the zoo after a two-year absence. After spending the past weeks getting acclimated to their habitat, the 6-year-old pandas greeted visitors in the newly renovated Arthur M. Blank Panda Grove.
Eight-year-old Rachel Sutherland and her family were visiting from Sacramento, California, and extended their vacation by a day to see the pandas.
“They’re amazing,” said Rachel. She said she was partial to Ping Ping because the name reminds her of the color pink.
Ping Ping has distinctive dark circles around his eyes, while Fu Shuang has a protruding forehead, according to Xinhua News Agency. Both were born at Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China.
The Atlanta zoo's panda enclosure had been empty since 2024, after four other pandas returned from the United States to China, ending a 25-year partnership amid strained relations between the two countries.
During a news conference Friday morning, Xie Feng, the Chinese ambassador to the U.S., said the pandas' arrival “marks the renewal of a decade-long bond between China and Zoo Atlanta.”
“We trust that under the loving care of Zoo Atlanta, the two pandas will eat happily, sleep soundly and grow healthy and strong in their new home, bringing twice the joy and happiness to everyone who loves them,” the ambassador said.
Georgia Tech student Kevin Wei, 18, said he'd been counting down until “panda day,” and felt especially connected to the animals because they are from his hometown of Chengdu.
“It's kind of like having a familiar bond,” Wei said. “Although I'm living in the U.S., I still can connect with myself and to China.”
China has long used pandas as part of its diplomacy globally, deploying the bears in loan programs as expressions of goodwill and letting loan agreements lapse when tensions arise.
Zoo Atlanta is one of three U.S. zoos that now house the popular bears.
The National Zoo in Washington returned three pandas to China in 2023 before accepting new arrivals Bao Li and Qing Bao in October 2024. The San Diego Zoo debuted two pandas in August 2024.
A decade ago, the International Union for Conservation of Nature reclassified giant pandas from endangered to vulnerable, reflecting pandas' growing numbers in the wild in China.
Resident Kim Herres, 76, said she has been visiting Zoo Atlanta ever since the city first received pandas in 1999. She said she sees pandas as a symbol of the world “doing the right thing” to protect animals.
“I'm just glad we've gotten them back,” she said. “Hopefully we won't make the Chinese mad, and they won't come get them.”
A sign represents Pandas as Zoo Atlanta introduces its new giant pandas, Ping Ping and Fu Shuang, to the public Friday, Nov. 6, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Fu Shuang eats as Zoo Atlanta introduces its new giant pandas, Ping Ping and Fu Shuang, to the public in Atlanta, Friday, Nov. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
A visitor watches as giant pandas Ping Ping and Fu Shuang make their public debut at Zoo Atlanta in Atlanta, Friday, Nov. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Fu Shuang eats as Zoo Atlanta introduces its new giant pandas, Ping Ping and Fu Shuang, to the public Friday, Nov. 6, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Ping Ping eats as Zoo Atlanta introduces its new giant pandas, Ping Ping and Fu Shuang, to the public Friday, Nov. 6, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
FILE - In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, vehicles carrying a pair of giant pandas, Ping Ping and Fu Shuang, leave the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Chengdu, southwestern China's Sichuan Province, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026.(Xu Bingjie/Xinhua via AP, file)
