France captain Kylian Mbappe has been left out of Didier Deschamps’s squad for their upcoming Nations League fixtures.
It is the second consecutive France squad that Mbappe has been left out of, after missing the October selection due to fitness concerts following a thigh injury.
The 25-year-old Real Madrid forward will miss France’s Nations League games against Israel (November 14) and Italy on November 17.
When asked about the decision to omit Mbappe from his squad, France head coach Deschamps said: “I’ve had several exchanges with him. I reflected and I took this decision for this camp here because I think that it’s better like that. I’m not going to argue.
“What I can tell you are two things. That Kylian wanted to come and it’s not non-sporting problems that are taken into account from the moment the presumption of innocence exists and should exist. It’s a choice, I repeat, that is occasional, for this camp and the two matches that we have.”
Mbappe has yet to hit his best form new club Real Madrid after joining the Spanish side from Paris Saint-Germain this summer. He has scored eight goals in 15 appearances but has often been deployed as a central striker, having previously excelled from the left in France.
When asked if Mbappe’s club form was the reason for him being left out of the France squad, Deschamps said: “I’m not going to tell you more for the reason that we have a camp with two matches with a goal that I set myself and which I stay with also, which is important. I know that there’s more of a tendency to highlight the negatives, but that’s not specific to the French national team.
“It’s a bit in general, but we’ve had three consecutive wins and we have two objectives in this camp, as well as the one I just told you about being able to share out playing time. To guarantee our qualification for the final eight and to be able to play for first place in the final match. Those are two objectives for this latest camp that are important.
“It’s not going to be interpreted. I repeat: it’s my decision because I think it’s better like that. I can understand that doesn’t suffice for you but I’m not going to enter into a reasoning that leads to interpretations. I’m not going to tell you more. I take responsibility for this decision, which is taken in absolute. It can happen days before, it doesn’t really matter, the essential thing is that when I’m here I’ve enacted the decision.”
Mbappe has yet to replicate his PSG form in Spain (Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images)
Deschamps made Mbappe the men’s national team captain in March 2023, following Hugo Lloris’ retirement after the 2022 World Cup. Mbappe last played for his country on September 9, coming off the bench during a 2-0 win over Belgium.
When the Frenchman was left out of the squad in October, he visited a hotel in Stockholm with some friends. Following the trip, reports linking him to an alleged rape in Sweden were published on October 10.
The claims first emerged after a report in Swedish media outlet Aftonbladet said Stockholm police were investigating an alleged rape in the city and that, as part of the case, officers had visited the hotel where Mbappe and some friends of his stayed.
Swedish prosecutors confirmed that a report of rape in a hotel in central Stockholm had been received and that a preliminary investigation was being carried out by senior prosecutor Marina Chirakova. Following the reports, Mbappe’s lawyer said the Real Madrid forward believes he has “nothing to be reproached for”.
Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti said in October that Mbappe was “happy” and unaffected by reports linking him to the alleged rape.
France squad in full:
Goalkeepers: Lucas Chevalier (Lille), Mike Maignan (AC Milan), Brice Samba (Lens).
Defenders: Jonathan Clauss (Nice), Lucas Digne (Aston Villa), Wesley Fofana (Chelsea), Theo Hernandez (AC Milan), Ibrahima Konate (Liverpool), Jules Kounde (Barcelona), William Saliba (Arsenal), Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich).
Midfielders: Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid), Matteo Guendouzi (Lazio), N’Golo Kante (Al Ittihad), Manu Kone (Borussia Monchengladbach), Adrien Rabiot (Marseille), Warren Zaire-Emery (PSG).
Forwards: Bradley Barcola (PSG), Ousmane Dembele (PSG), Randal Kolo Muani (PSG), Christopher Nkunku (Chelsea), Michael Olise (Bayern Munich), Marcus Thuram (Inter Milan).
(Top photo: Franck Fife/AFP via Getty Images)
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