French International Treats Entire Village to Pizza

Crystal Palace and France national team defender Maxence Lacroix has pledged to treat all viewers of the French national team's matches in his hometown of Dordogne to pizza, according to France Info. France's first match is tonight against Senegal, and in the village, which has a population of 350, around a hundred people are expected to gather to watch the game on a big screen.

"He is very attached to the community here. Maxence offered his mother to treat us to pizzas on the evenings of France's matches, and she explained to him that we had set up a large screen in the municipal hall for celebrations," said the mayor of Ajat, Didier Clergeau, to the media. Maxence Lacroix had an excellent season with Crystal Palace, winning the Conference League, and was called up to the French squad for the first time in March to replace the injured William Saliba for a two-match tour in the USA.

He came on as a substitute against Brazil (2-1) and started in the match against Colombia (3-1), convincing the coaching staff that he deserved a place among Didier Deschamps' 26 selected players. Before the start of their campaign, the entire French squad posed for a group photo, with the players wearing the jerseys of the teams where their careers began. Lacroix wore the jersey of the modest AS Croquant Limeyrat, which is five kilometers from Ajat. He then moved through Trélissac and Sochaux, from where he was transferred to Wolfsburg for 5 million euros in 2020, and four years later, Crystal Palace paid 18 million for his rights. He has a contract with the London club until 2029.