Kylian Mbappé was not selected by Didier Deschamps to face Israel (October 10) and Belgium (October 14), citing a muscle injury in his left thigh requiring treatment. The captain of the France team, however, played 70 minutes in the match between Real Madrid and Villarreal on Saturday October 5, appearing in good form with the Merengue. A selection package which questions and rekindles the debate on the methods of the Madrid club.
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Once again, Real Madrid won their showdown with the France team. After the surprise announcement of the absence of Blues captain Kylian Mbappé from Didier Deschamps’ list on Thursday October 3, the sequence which took place for almost 70 minutes on Saturday evening at the Santiago Bernabéu was surprising. The Frenchman, announced injured in the left thigh and forfeited for the next two League of Nations matches against Israel (October 10) and Belgium (October 14), nevertheless did not seem embarrassed on the field with Real Madrid during his start against Villarreal (2-0).
“ I’m not here to take risks “, had put forward the coach of the Blues to justify his absence from the list, evoking “ a not serious problem but requiring care to be able to recover well “. The question now is how the French coach will react during his press conference, scheduled for Monday in Clairefontaine and inevitably scrutinized after this start of the controversy.
“ He played (Saturday), so he is fit for the France team, it’s not normal “, commented this Sunday the former international Bixente Lizarazu in the Téléfoot show, evoking the considerable weight that clubs take on against national teams, and in particular the all-powerful Real Madrid which is accustomed to doing so and does not hesitate to block his players when international breaks do not suit his schedule.
An emerging controversy and the Blues without a captain
This summer, the Madrid club had already banned its foreign internationals from participating in the Paris Olympic Games, a competition that Mbappé had long wanted to compete in before falling into line once his arrival in Madrid was confirmed. In September during the previous meeting, Madrilenians Aurélien Tchouaméni and Ferland Mendy were also unavailable with the Blues, blocked by their club. But the case of Kylian Mbappé, captain of the Blues for almost two years and still looking for responsibilities in the team, stands out at a time when he seems to want to prioritize his adaptation to Real Madrid and get back into the good graces of its leaders. “ I’m happy to be in Madrid, but my pleasure at being in Blue has not changed », He had nevertheless assured with the national team at the beginning of September.
The looming season in the selection, devoid of major challenges and competitions, can also be one of the reasons which motivated this choice on the part of the French striker, while on the contrary he must meet the great expectations placed in him under the colors of the prestigious Real Madrid. Especially since FIFA will inaugurate its new Club World Cup next summer in the United States. If Didier Deschamps had declared that he had “not not the slightest doubt about Kylian’s involvement “, he for his part minimized the importance of the League of Nations: ” We’ve already won it. This is not going to give us any extraordinary emotion. We won in Milan (in 2021). But at the end of the match, I didn’t feel like I had won a trophy “.
It now remains to be seen how the French coach will manage this gathering, which is certainly of relative importance but which is moving into the unknown. After the surprise retirement of Antoine Griezmann (137 caps) at the start of the week and the absence of the captain of the Blues, it is Ousmane Dembélé (51 caps) who is the most experienced player among those called up. Didier Deschamps will have to find new executives and maneuver at the heart of a controversy which does not suit the French team’s business.
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