Lyon midfielder Houssem Aouar represented both France Under-17s and Under-21s before he was called up to the national team by Didier Deschamps for his first senior cap.
The then 24-year-old made his France debut in his side’s 7-1 demolition of Ukraine at the Stade de France back in 2020, with Aouar picking up two assists on his first and only start.
Since then, the Frenchman, who is of Algerian descent, failed to make Deschamps’ France squads for Euro 2020 and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
According to reports, Aouar is expected to end his short-lived run with France and switch his national allegiance to Algeria.
So, what could this mean for Aouar in FIFA 23?
Algeria calling
The Algerian Football Federation (AFF) president, Djahid Zefizef, has now reportedly confirmed that Aouar will play for Algeria.
Speaking ahead of Lyon’s 1-0 defeat to Marseille back in November 2022, the ex-France international refused to discuss a potential switch to the Algeria national team, but it now seems the move will happen.
FIFA’s rules have stated that a player is eligible to switch nationalities so long as they have not featured in a competitive match for a country.
Given Houssem Aouar has only played in a friendly match for France, he is definitely eligible to play for Algeria.
Ultimate Team possibilities
So, what does Houssem Aouar's nationality change mean for Ultimate Team in FIFA 23?
Well, we aren't quite sure when this change will be made official in-game, but we can expect it to be implemented before the release of EA Sports FC.
Once the change is made in FUT, Aouar will get a strong link to the one and only, Youcef Atal.
Atal's FIFA 23 base card is already ridiculously overpowered and we can expect EA to hand the Algerian a special item in the weeks to come.
The reason the 26-year-old's item feels so good in-game is down to his four-star skill moves and five-star weak foot, coupled with his raw pace.
So, Houssem Aouar's nation switch becomes official in-game, we could be seeing an awful lot of Atal-Aouar link-up in Ultimate Team.