Real Madrid striker Kylian Mbappe has been left out of the France squad for their upcoming Nations League matches against Israel and Belgium.
The former Paris Saint-Germain attacker returned from a muscular injury in Wednesday's Champions League showdown with Lille, playing 33 minutes off the bench in that surprise 1-0 defeat.
Mbappe made a quicker-than-expected recovery, but the 25-year-old has been omitted from Didier Deschamps's squad list for this month's fixtures, the first time in three years that he has failed to make the cut.
Mbappe was last left out of a France squad back in September 2021 due to a calf injury, and he is one of two attacking stalwarts who will not be at Deschamps's disposal this month following Antoine Griezmann's international retirement.
In place of the Atletico Madrid attacker comes Chelsea's Christopher Nkunku, who has hit six goals in his first nine matches of the 2024-25 season and earns his first national team call-up since June 2023.
Nkunku - who is still waiting for his first senior France goal - is joined in the attacking ranks by Bayern Munich's Michael Olise and Paris Saint-Germain's Ousmane Dembele, despite the latter being left out of his side's squad for their Champions League loss to Arsenal due to a recent bust-up with Luis Enrique.
Mbappe one of two Real Madrid players cut from France squad
📋 𝐋𝐚 𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐮𝐬 pour nos 2️⃣ prochains matchs de Ligue des Nations 🙌#FiersdetreBleus pic.twitter.com/mSGiEn9IAK
— Equipe de France ⭐⭐ (@equipedefrance) October 3, 2024
Griezmann and Mbappe are two of five players to have been omitted from the France squad after being called up to September's selection, as Al-Ittihad's N'Golo Kante also drops out of the team.
Mbappe's Real Madrid teammate Ferland Mendy - whom Carlo Ancelotti has allegedly reached the end of his tether with - makes way too, as does Sevilla centre-back Loic Bade.
Instead, Chelsea's Wesley Fofana and Aston Villa's Lucas Digne are summoned to the Bleus ranks, with the former hoping to make just his second appearance for France after debuting against Gibraltar in June 2023.
Deschamps's side return to action against Israel on October 10 at the Bozsik Arena in Budapest, with the tie being played in Hungary due to the ongoing war in the Middle East, before taking on Belgium in Brussels on October 14.
Les Bleus lost 3-1 to Italy before beating Belgium 2-0 in September's Nations League fixtures, and Deschamps's men sit second in League A Group 2, which would see them directly qualify for the quarter-finals.
France Nations League squad in full:
Goalkeepers: Alphonse Areola (West Ham), Mike Maignan (AC Milan), Brice Samba (Lens)
Defenders: Jonathan Clauss (Nice), Lucas Digne (Aston Villa), Wesley Fofana (Chelsea), Theo Hernandez (AC Milan), Ibrahima Konate (Liverpool), Jules Kounde (Barcelona), William Saliba (Arsenal), Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich)
Midfielders: Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid), Youssouf Fofana (Milan), Matteo Guendouzi (Lazio Rome), Manu Kone (Borussia Monchengladbach), Aurelien Tchouameni (Real Madrid), Warren Zaire-Emery (Paris Saint-Germain)
Forwards: Bradley Barcola (PSG), Ousmane Dembele (PSG), Randal Kolo Muani (PSG), Christopher Nkunku (Chelsea), Michael Olise (Bayern Munich) Marcus Thuram (Inter Milan)
Ben Knapton
