Kylian Mbappe has been left out of France’s squad for their upcoming Nations League matches, despite coach Didier Deschamps saying the Real Madrid number 9 “wanted to come”.
Mbappe, who has struggled to regain his form since leaving Paris Saint-Germain in the summer, sat out last month’s international matches due to what was called a precautionary stance over possible injury. Deschamps did not confirm whether the 25-year-old has similar problems now.
Instead, this was what Deschamps called a “one-off decision”, one that will give the World Cup winner time to regain his best form at club level. France will play Israel on November 14 before traveling to Italy three days later. A victory in either match would guarantee The blues a place in the quarterfinals of the Nations League.
“It’s my responsibility to make decisions,” Deschamps said about the striker’s absence. “I think it’s better this way.”
The coach also denied that Mbappé was left out due to accusations made against the forward by a Swedish newspaper during the previous international break. Mbappé has denied them, publicly dismissing them as “fake news.”
Deschamps said: “What I can tell you are these two things; one, that Kylian wanted to come. And two, there are the additional sporting problems that come into play as the presumption of innocence exists and must exist.”
On the field, Mbappé has scored eight goals in 15 games for Madrid so far this season. The fact that that return, along with two other assists, was seen as a disappointment speaks to the dizzying standards imposed on the Frenchman, who arrived on a free transfer after his PSG contract expired.
Coach Carlo Ancelotti so far He struggled to fit Mbappé into his XI along with Vinicius Junior, while Madrid has also had problems in defense. Three of their last six games ended in defeat, including a 4-0 defeat against Barcelona in the Classic before a 3-1 home defeat against AC Milan. Mbappé did not score in any of the games; in fact, he only has one goal to his name since the beginning of October.
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