France manager Didier Deschamps has explained his decision to leave Kylian Mbappe out of his squad for this month's UEFA Nations League double-header.
Les Bleus host Israel next Thursday before travelling to Italy three days later in what is shaping up to be the clash that decides the winner of Group A2. However, they'll have to do so without the help of the Real Madrid superstar.
This was also the case last month as the 25-year-old wasn't selected by Deschamps, although this was simply as a precaution given he had just returned from injury.
But given that Mbappe had been expected to return for selection this month, it's somewhat of a surprise that he's not been included.
Speaking at a news conference to provide clarity on the situation, Deschamps has revealed that he took the decision to not call up the France captain.
"I've had discussions with him, it is a decision that I took for this block of matches only," he said. "Kylian wanted to come."
This decision is ultimately great news for Real Madrid as the forward should benefit from not going on international duty and therefore be ready to go against Leganes on November 24.
Despite netting on his Los Blancos debut against Atalanta in the Super Cup and scoring eight times in 15 appearances across all competitions, Mbappe has struggled for consistency since making the move from Paris Saint-Germain, finding the back of the net once in his last five outings.
In his absence for the France national team, Deschamps has named Chelsea's Christopher Nkunku, Bayern Munich's Michael Olise, Inter's Marcus Thuram and PSG trio Bradley Barcola, Ousmane Dembele, Randal Kolo Muani as his forward options.
Meanwhile, Arsenal’s William Saliba, Blues defender Wesley Fofana, Aston Villa left-back Lucas Digne and Liverpool’s Ibrahima Konate are the other Premier League representatives in the 23-man squad.
