Mathieu Akapandzé

In March 2025 Mathieu Akapandzé lined up for Madagascar against Ghana in a 2026 World Cup qualifier, and he was in the starting XI. It was his first senior cap. Earlier he had played twice for France at under-18 level, in 2021, and once for the under-19s the following year.

The route there began on Réunion, where he came through EF Saint-Pierre and then CO Saint-Pierre before moving to mainland France in 2019 to join the FC Nantes academy. He worked through every age group at the club and won the Championnat National U19 twice, in 2021/22 and 2022/23.

His first-team debut for Nantes came on 8 February 2023. The regular football, though, was elsewhere: from 2022 to 2026 he turned out for the reserve side in the lower divisions, in CFA 2 and then National 3. In 2025/26 he appeared five times in Ligue 1 and once in the Coupe de France.

His Nantes contract ran out in the summer of 2026. On 26 June he signed for HNK Hajduk Split as a free agent — the fee was nil — on terms that run to the summer of 2030.

With Madagascar he has added substitute appearances in friendlies against DR Congo, in June 2025, and Morocco, a year later. He had two senior caps as of June 2025 and has yet to score for the national team.