World Cup: Mike Maignan shines on debut and leads France to victory

Mike Maignan made a gala debut at the FIFA World Cup, helping France beat Senegal 3-1. The goalkeeper, who is about to turn 31 years old, made his first appearance in a World Cup, after having missed the previous edition in 2022 due to a calf injury that ruled him out not only of the World Cup, but also of AC Milan. Now, fully recovered, Maignan has established himself as the French team's starting goalkeeper.

In the history of AC Milan, Maignan follows in the footsteps of great goalkeepers. During the 1954 World Cup, Italian Giorgio Ghezzi, who played for Inter, later joined Milan and became the goalkeeper of the team that won the first European Cup in 1963. Another famous name was Lorenzo Buffon, who passed away last year at the age of 95. He was Serie A champion with Milan between 1950 and 1959 and participated in the 1962 World Cup with Inter.


Enrico Albertosi was Italy's starting goalkeeper in the 1966 and 1970 World Cups before moving to Milan, where he remained from 1974 to 1980. Giovanni Galli, in turn, had a memorable summer in 1986, when he faced Maradona in the famous World Cup goal in Mexico, and also completed his transfer from Fiorentina to Milan.

Maignan is the successor to Gigio Donnarumma, who did not have the opportunity to play in World Cups, but was part of the Italian team that won Euro 2020, in which Maignan arrived to replace Donnarumma at Milan. Today, he is France's starting goalkeeper at the World Cup held in the United States.

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