Why Kylian Mbappe wasn’t selected for international duty with France – despite recovering from injury to feature in Real Madrid’s Champions League defeat midweek
- Les Blues’ captaincy was a surprising omission from the newest international team
- Kylian Mbappé recently recovered from a thigh injury and played for Real Madrid
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The reason why Kylian Mbappe was left out of the France squad has been revealed after the Real Madrid striker was bizarrely left out despite being fit.
Mbappe captains the France national team and was the shocking name missing when Les Blues head coach Didier Deschamps named his squad for the upcoming UEFA Nations League matches.
The 25-year-old is the focal point of France’s attacks and the team have struggled previously in his absence, but will have to do so again when they take on Israel and neighbors Belgium.
Mbappe has had a strong start in Spain after leaving PSG for Madrid this summer, scoring seven goals in 10 games in all competitions.
A thigh injury kept him out of last weekend’s Madrid derby, which ended 1-1, but he returned to the pitch on Wednesday as a second-half substitute after the shock Champions League defeat to Lille.
Kylian Mbappe was a surprising omission from France’s latest squad despite returning from injury at Real Madrid
Mbappe will not feature in France’s upcoming UEFA Nations League matches
The 25-year-old has only recently recovered from a minor thigh injury and played in the Champions League in midweek
Despite being fit and available for selection, Mbappe will not work with his national team colleagues after a chat with Deschamps left the French boss with an easy decision.
Deschamps revealed that although Mbappe has recovered from injury, he does not want to take unnecessary risks and would rather leave his star player at home to recover while bigger games lie ahead.
‘I had a conversation with Kylian. He has a problem that is not serious,” Deschamps told reporters in Paris.
“I’m not going to take any risks, that’s why he’s not in the squad,” he added.
France head coach Didier Deschamps revealed he does not want to take a ‘risk’ with Mbappe’s fitness
Deschamps was previously able to rely on Antoine Griezmann for goals in Mbappe’s absence, but will no longer be able to do so after the forward announced his international retirement at the start of this week.
The 33-year-old was a regular at Euro 2024 and made the decision to step down from international duty after making 137 appearances for the national team.
Hailing the World Cup and Nations League winner, Deschamps continued: “He had such an impact that we cannot play in the same way.
‘I’m not necessarily going to change the system, but I’m also not going to look for an equal player.’
