Neal Maupay reveals his cheeky plan if England face France at Euro 2024 – as the French forward names the former Chelsea midfielder he was surprised to see in Didier Deschamps’ side

Neal Maupay has admitted he already has some tricks up his sleeve if England face his native France at the European Championships.

Renowned for his ability to get under the skin of opposing players, the Brentford striker has wasted little time getting his social media antics underway ahead of the tournament.

Nearly six months after the pair had a back-and-force on social media, Maupay brutally trolled James Maddison earlier this week after the Spurs star missed out on Gareth Southgate’s 26-man squad.

Maupay posted a photograph of him clutching a trio of darts in front of a board, mocking Maddison’s trademark celebration.

But there could be a lot more to come this summer according to the man himself.

The French striker mercilessly trolled former sparring partner James Maddison earlier this week

Asked if he had anything planned should England and France meet in the knockout rounds in Germany, Maupay joked that he is well-prepared.

‘I’ve got a few memes ready,’ he told talkSPORT. ‘I’ve seen that we can face each other in the semi-finals. 

‘It depends on where I watch the game. It will be in England, but I’ll have to be careful. I don’t want to be run down by 20 England fans!

‘I’ll wait until I get home and then will be on my phone.’

Maddison wasn’t the only notable omission from Southgate’s final 26-man squad for the finals later this month.

Jack Grealish was also left without a place in the team after struggling to find consistent form at Manchester City despite Pep Guardiola’s side winning a history-making fourth successive league title on the final day.

Maupay mocked Maddison’s signature celebration after the Spurs star missed out on England’s 26-man squad

Former Brighton forward added that he understood why Gareth Southgate didn’t select Jack Grealish

Despite some significant backlash surrounding the decision, Maupay said he understood Southgate’s decision given the depth in offensive talent available.

‘When I look at the England squad there’s so many good players. You have to pick 26 players.’ He continued.

‘It has to be 26 players in form. I don’t think Grealish is in his best form. There’s players like Cole Palmer, Phil Foden and all of those forwards, they’ve been scoring a lot.

‘When you’ve got 30 or 35 top players, some have to miss out. You cannot chose 20 forwards.’

One selection that did surprise Maupay was that of N’Golo Kante for France.

The former Leicester and Chelsea midfielder has been playing his club football in Saudi Arabia at Al-Ittihad and played in just one of Les Blues’ last 26 games but will be part of Didier Deschamps squad.

‘I was surprised because he hasn’t been called up for a couple of years now,’ he added. ‘But Kante has always been a top player for France.

Maupay also expressed surprise that N’Golo Kante has returned to France’s squad for the tournament

‘In a squad, he’s just such a good teammate. You can see him always smiling and he always does a job for the team.

‘Didier Deschamps likes to rely on players he knows really well like [Olivier] Giroud, Kante, [Antoine] Griezmann. He knows them really well, so he’s picking experience.’