How Zacharie Boucher’s 2018 comment came back to haunt his international career

Zacharie Boucher dished Madagascar in 2018 when he didn’t even have to during an interview, and the comments of the came back to haunt his career at 34, as the federation is forced to withdraw his first-ever international call-up.

Zacharie Boucher’s long-forgotten words from 2018 have suddenly returned to the spotlight, costing the Troyes goalkeeper a chance to make his senior debut for Madagascar.

The 34-year-old was initially included in Corentin Martins’ squad for the opening two matches of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, but his call-up was withdrawn after an old interview resurfaced.

The story behind the original comment

The controversy dates back to October 2018, when Boucher was playing for Angers on loan from Auxerre.

Then Madagascar coach Nicolas Dupuis had mentioned the goalkeeper as a possible addition to his squad after reports suggested Boucher could have Malagasy ancestry.

Boucher, however, rejected the possibility of representing the Barea. Speaking to Ouest-France, he insisted: “I’m French, I’ve never been Malagasy,” while saying that his French passport confirmed his nationality.

He added that if Madagascar called him, his answer would be no. At the time, Boucher had represented France from Under-16 level through the Under-21s and said playing for Les Bleus remained his ambition.

“I’m French, proud to be,” he declared, while making clear that he had no intention of playing at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations with another country.

Eight years later, everything changed

Zacharie Boucher’s international situation eventually took a different direction. After 12 years since his last appearance with the French U21 team, the Goalkeeper has not received a call up to the competitive Les Bleus, hence has only feature at club level.

Born in Saint-Pierre, Réunion, and with Malagasy eligibility, he was eventually named by Martins on September 17, 2026, for Madagascar’s opening AFCON 2027 qualifiers against Nigeria and Tanzania.

The selection represented his first senior international call-up and appeared to mark a remarkable reversal from his position eight years earlier. CAF confirmed Boucher was one of two new faces in Martins’ 25-man squad.

The past returns to haunt Zacharie Boucher

The opportunity lasted only days. After his selection was announced, the 2018 interview resurfaced and generated controversy in Madagascar.

The Malagasy Football Federation subsequently said the coach had been informed about public statements attributed to Boucher from an interview conducted years earlier, when the goalkeeper was unaware of his eligibility to represent Madagascar.

Following discussions involving the relevant parties, the federation decided not to retain him for the upcoming camp, killing off his hopes of a National Team career at 34.

No Madagascar debut for Zacharie Boucher

Zacharie Boucher, although now eligible, will therefore miss Madagascar’s September qualifiers, including the September 25 meeting with Nigeria in Uyo and the September 29 clash with Tanzania.

What appeared to be the beginning of a new international chapter has instead become a striking example of how words spoken years earlier can resurface at a very different stage of a footballer’s career.

The story also carries an unusual twist: in 2018, Boucher was rejecting Madagascar because he believed he was not eligible; eight years later, after that eligibility had become relevant to his career, the same interview ultimately helped end his first international call-up.