Left out of World Cup, Tolisso extends at Lyon and accepts non-selection

Corentin Tolisso will not play in the 2026 World Cup with the France national team, but the Olympique Lyonnais midfielder used this period to rest and extend his commitment with the Rhône club until 2029, he announced at a press conference on Wednesday, July 8.

World Cup winner in 2018, the 31-year-old player was among the most talked-about absences from Didier Deschamps’ squad, especially since Les Bleus only called up five midfielders — excluding attacking midfielders — for this American tournament. After a very strong season with OL, Tolisso could have claimed a spot in the group, but ultimately was not selected.

When asked about this decision, the Lyon captain displayed serene acceptance. “I digested it very quickly, I was able to go on holiday with my family and friends, and I think that ultimately, it was perhaps a blessing in disguise,” he said. He also put the sporting stakes of selection into perspective: “I don’t know how many matches I would have played if I had been selected, I might not have played at all, but I wouldn’t have rested with the training sessions.”

The upcoming season indeed justifies this recovery. OL will have to play one or two qualifying rounds of the Ligue des Champions as early as August, and Tolisso intends to be fully operational for these fixtures. “I was able to rest, have my six weeks of holiday, I have very important commitments with my club. In the end, it’s destiny. If I wasn’t supposed to go, then I wasn’t supposed to go. It allowed me to rest and be, I hope, performing and ready for the first playoff match in early August,” he added.

Starting in the first pre-season friendly of the Gones, won 5-2 against Mâcon, Tolisso is approaching this new sequence with a secured contract and ambition clearly focused on Lyon.