There has not been much good news for West Ham United recently after they have suffered back-to-back defeats in the Championship. However, one of the club's few bright sparks this season has been Mohamadou Kante.
It was uncertain as to whether Kante would continue at West Ham for this campaign. He made just 11 Premier League appearances last season and was linked with a move back to France to Olympique de Marseille. Kante had previously come through the ranks at Paris FC before joining the Hammers.
In this campaign, the natural defensive midfielder has been used in more attacking roles at times. In the Championship this season, he has scored three goals with two assists in 12 games already. One of them was, of course, the strike from range against Millwall.
Kante has become a bit of a legend for West Ham for his performance in the Dockers Derby. He came on at half-time, scored, and got sent off when he took one for the team. It was his mistake that led to his red card, but he inspired the Hammers to come from two goals down to get a 2-2 draw.
He has been rewarded for his performances for West Ham by being called up by the Mali national team. They have a strong midfield, which also includes the likes of Mamadou Sangaré of Brentford. They also have Ousmane Diakité, who starred over the weekend for West Bromwich Albion against West Ham.
Mali will need Mohamadou Kante for important AFCON qualifiers
In the upcoming international break, Mali has two Africa Cup of Nations qualifying fixtures against Rwanda. They are currently just above Mali due to goals scored in Group K. The other teams in their group are Cape Verde and Liberia, whom Mali will still have to play again in March.
Other West Ham players have represented Mali in the past: Modibo Maiga and Frederic Kanoute. Also, Kante's West Ham teammate, Soungoutou Magassa, is eligible to play for Mali. However, he has represented France up to the Under-21 level. Kante, despite being born in France, has never been called up by France at any age group, so it would have been an easy decision to accept the call-up for Mali.
Other West Ham players will be expected to be called up for their international teams for the upcoming break. This includes Dinos Mavropanos for Greece, provided he has recovered from his injury. Manor Solomon will likely be in Israel's squad. Mads Hermansen is expected to be one of Denmark's goalkeepers once again.
There will also likely be Hammers in age-group squads. This could include Edvin Austbø for Norway U21s. Divine Mukasa could be in the England U21s squad once again. However, he could also be with Airidas Golambeckis, Finlay Herrick, and Ezra Mayers in the U20s.
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