This Tuesday, Arsenal secured the Premier League title after 22 years thanks to Manchester City’s 1-1 draw against Bournemouth. Eli Junior Kroupi scored the goal that ended the Citizens’ remaining title hopes, after making headlines for rejecting Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal.
Born in Lorient, France, on June 23, 2006, Kroupi has Ivorian roots through his father and Portuguese heritage through his mother. Those circumstances made him eligible to represent any of the three national teams, but he ultimately chose the country of his birth.
Portugal tried to convince him to join the program, as Roberto Martinez acknowledged during Tuesday’s press conference. “Yes, there was interest, we stayed ahead of the news. Before the March training camp we had contact,” explained the head coach.
However, Martinez made it clear that Kroupi’s intentions did not align with Portugal’s plans: “It is important to follow players who can represent the Portugal national team and those who want to represent it. Junior wanted to play for France and we respected it, it is a case that we left closed.”
With Cristiano Ronaldo’s international retirement seemingly approaching, Portugal will need young and talented forwards to build the squad for the near future, and Eli Junior Kroupi fits that profile. Still, it was difficult to imagine him having a realistic chance of making the roster for the 2026 FIFA World Cup given the level of competition at the position.
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Another option for France
Eli Junior Kroupi has represented France’s youth national teams over the past several years. He joined the U-16 national team in 2021 and later remained involved with the country at the U-17 and U-21 levels, most recently appearing in November 2025 against the Faroe Islands.
As for the senior national team, however, Kroupi will need to work hard to earn a spot in the near future. France already feature world-class forwards who are still relatively young and expected to remain part of the national team for years to come, such as Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele. In addition, emerging talents like Bradley Barcola, Rayan Cherki, Desire Doue and Michael Olise have gradually established themselves within the squad.
Kroupi shining in the Premier League
The current 2025-26 campaign is Eli Junior Kroupi’s first season in the Premier League. He has delivered more than solid performances for Bournemouth, ranking among the league’s top 10 scorers with 13 goals in 32 matches. Beyond the numbers, the importance of those goals also stands out: in addition to scoring against Manchester City this Tuesday, the French forward also found the net this season against Arsenal, Manchester United and Tottenham.
