France visit Israel for Matchday 3 of UEFA Nations League, but Les Bleus will be playing without their star Kylian Mbappe. The Real Madrid forward wasn’t called up for this international break, a decision that has caused some controversy in the national team.
Mbappe was ruled out of France matches against Israel and Belgium because of a thigh injury during Madrid’s 3-2 victory over Alaves last month. However, while at first it was suggested that he was going to be out for three weeks, Mbappe made a surprising return in Real’s 1-0 defeat to Lille in the Champions League, and then played again against Villarreal.
His quick comeback has been highly criticized in France. “Either you’re injured, and you don’t play with your club and you’re not called up in the national team. But when you come off the bench in the Champions League and you start a league game. It makes things fuzzy,” said French legend Maxime Bossis.
Meanwhile, Didier Deschamps explained his decision to not call up Mbappe in the press conference ahead of the game. “I had an exchange with Kylian. He has a problem which is not serious. I am not going to take risks, which is why he is not in the squad,” the head coach said.
Didier Deschamps (Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
On the other hand, Mbappe also rested in France’s last match against Belgium, in which Les Bleus won 2-0 with goals by Randal Kolo Muani and Ousmane Dembele. The Real Madrid striker did play in France’s defeat against Italy (3-1).
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France without Mbappe and Griezmann
With Mbappe out, France will also be without Antoine Griezmann, who recently retired from international duty in a surprising announcement. This mean that Deschamps will have to make some chnages in the lineup.
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Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe reacts to Antoine Griezmann’s retirement from the French National Team
Ousmane Dembele could take on a leadership role in the attack, with Marcus Thuram likely to play as the central striker. Dayot Upamecano pulled out due to injury, leaving Ibrahima Konate to partner with William Saliba in defense.
