Despite being fully fit and available, Kylian Mbappé was not called up by Didier Deschamps to represent France during the November international break.
Deschamps released his 23-man squad ahead of France's UEFA Nations League matches against Israel and Italy, but one glaring name was missing from the roster. For the second straight international break, Les Bleus' captain did not make the cut.
The Real Madrid man stayed behind in October to continue recovering from a thigh injury he sustained in late September. Now, though, a simple coach's decision left Mbappé in Madrid.
"I've had discussions with him," Deschamps said in a press conference on Nov. 7. "It is a decision that I took for this block of matches only. Kylian wanted to come. It's not because of any other problem."
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The omission comes amid Mbappé's poor run of form at Real Madrid. The Frenchman might lead the team with six La Liga goals, but his performances have fallen short in recent weeks. The striker was caught offsides eight times in his debut El Clásico and got nothing going in Los Blancos' Champions League defeat to AC Milan.
In fact, he has not scored a goal for Real Madrid since he buried a screamer against Celta Vigo on Oct. 19. Prior to that, his last goal came against Alavés on Sept. 24.
Although Deschamps confirmed this is just a one-off decision, it is still a bold statement to make regarding one of France's best players. The 25-year-old won the 2018 World Cup with Les Bleus and has bagged 48 goals in 86 appearances throughout his international career.
Check out who Deschamps called up in his place.
France Squad for November UEFA Nations League Matches vs. Israel and Italy
Goalkeepers
- Mike Maignan (AC Milan)
- Brice Samba (Lens)
- Lucas Chevalier (Lille)
Defenders
- Jonathan Clauss (Nice)
- Lucas Digne (Aston Villa)
- Wesley Fofana (Chelsea)
- Theo Hernández (AC Milan)
- Ibrahima Konaté (Liverpool)
- Jules Koundé (Barcelona)
- William Saliba (Arsenal)
- Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich)
Midfielders
- Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid)
- Matteo Guendouzi (Lazio)
- N'Golo Kanté (Al Ittihad)
- Manu Koné (Roma)
- Adrien Rabiot (Marseille)
- Warren Zaïre-Emery (Paris Saint-Germain)
- Bradley Barcola (PSG)
- Ousmane Dembélé (PSG)
- Randal Kolo Muani (PSG)
- Christopher Nkunku (Chelsea)
- Michael Olise (Bayern Munich)
- Marcus Thuram (Inter Milan)
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Didier Deschamps Makes Bold Statement Dropping Kylian Mbappe From France Squad .
