Kylian Mbappé will not be on the pitch against Italy on November 17th at San Siro, nor on the 14th at the Stade de France against Israel. The Real Madrid number 10, struggling with a decidedly complicated period for the second time in a row, was excluded from the list of players called up by Didier Deschamps. In the press conference, the France coach motivated this decision as follows: “I discussed with him and I took this decision for these meetings because I think it is better this way. I have no intention of discussing my choice, but I can say two things: the first is that Kylian wanted to come, the second is that these are not extra-sporting issues that come into play since the presumption of innocence exists and must exist. It is a one-off decision, it is my decision because I think it is better this way. Not I want to tell you more, I take responsibility for this decision,” he said.
Subsequently, when Deschamps was asked whether he chose for the good of France or for that of Mbappé, the coach cut it short: “I repeat, it’s better this way.” Below is the list of those called up.
Goalkeepers: Mike Maignan (Milan), Brice Samba (Lens), Lucas Chevalier (Lille).
Defenders: Jonathan Clauss (Nice), Lucas Digne (Aston Villa), Wesley Fofana (Chelsea), Theo Hernandez (AC Milan), Ibrahima Konaté (Liverpool), Jules Koundé (FC Barcelona), William Saliba (Arsenal), Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich) ).
Midfielders: Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid), Mattéo Guendouzi (Lazio), N’Golo Kanté (Al-Ittihad), Manu Koné (AS Roma), Adrien Rabiot (Marseille), Warren Zaire-Emery (Paris-SG).
Attackers: Bradley Barcola (Paris-SG), Ousmane Dembélé (Paris-SG), Randal Kolo Muani (Paris-SG), Christopher Nkunku (Chelsea), Michael Olise (Bayern Munich), Marcus Thuram (Inter).