Zacharie Boucher’s spectacular U-turn: called up by Madagascar eight years after his categorical refusal

Eight years ago, the goalkeeper, who currently plays for Troyes, appeared to have closed the door on the Madagascar national team for good.

At the time, Zacharie Boucher had been categorical. Whilst his name was being linked with the Madagascan national team, he had publicly rejected any possibility of wearing the Madagascan shirt. The goalkeeper had even insisted that, in his view, a call-up was out of the question.

“I’m French; I’ve never been Madagascan. I don’t know why it all came out like that. As far as I’m concerned, there’s nothing to it. You only have to look at my passport. It says ‘French’ on it. If the manager calls me up, the answer is no. What’s more, from an administrative point of view, I can’t even do it. I’m not Malagasy,” he had declared.

But today, the 34-year-old goalkeeper has agreed to join the Madagascan national team and features in Corentin Martins’ squad for the first two matchdays of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. This is a particularly striking U-turn for someone who had categorically ruled out this possibility.

This first call-up, which has sparked controversy in Madagascar, comes against a specific sporting backdrop: Boucher has not played a single match for Troyes in Ligue 1 this season.