Didier Deschamps says Kylian Mbappe wanted to join up with France squad; Real Madrid forward to miss Nations League games against Israel and Italy; Thierry Henry criticised Mbappe's performances for Real Madrid this week, saying he must do "way more"
Thursday 7 November 2024 19:09, UK
Kylian Mbappe has been left out of France's squad for November's Nations League games, despite coach Didier Deschamps saying the Real Madrid player "wanted to come".
Deschamps did not say whether Mbappe, who played in a 3-1 Champions League defeat to AC Milan on Tuesday, was injured.
Speaking to the media on Thursday, Deschamps said he had made a "one-off decision".
"It's my responsibility to make decisions. I think it's better that way," the coach added ahead of games against Israel on November 14 and Italy three days later.
Mbappe, who joined Real after his Paris Saint-Germain contract expired in July, missed two France games last month as a precaution after injury.
Deschamps said the decision was not related to allegations made against the player by a Swedish newspaper regarding a trip he made to the country during the previous international break - reports Mbappe himself said were "fake news" and which his representatives described as "totally false and irresponsible".
"I'm not going to argue," Deschamps said.
"What I can tell you are these two things; one, that Kylian wanted to come. And two, it's not the extra sporting problems that come into play since the presumption of innocence exists and must exist.
"It's a one-off choice for this gathering."
Mbappe has scored eight goals in 15 appearances for his new club, but has netted just once in his past six games to draw scrutiny.
The 25-year-old has struggled to make an impact in high-profile fixtures, with Vinicius Jr instead being deployed in the Frenchman's preferred position on the left of the attack.
Real lost 4-0 to Barcelona last month and trail their rivals by nine points in LaLiga.
