Didier Deschamps announced his list for the new gathering of the Blues on Thursday. Before the two matches against Israel l and Italy, Kylian Mbappé was not called, unlike Lucas Chevalier. Didier Deschamps made his list of summoned players official this Thursday during a press conference at 2pm. The surprise came from the absence of Kylian Mbappé and there were obviously many questions about the situation of the captain of the Blues. First information, Kylian Mbappé clearly wanted to come to this gathering, a month after his absence in October due to injury while he had played a few days later with his club Real Madrid. “Two things: Kylian wanted to come, and it is not the extra-sporting problems that come into play from the moment the presumption of innocence exists. It is a one-off choice for this gathering with the two matches that await us”, explained Didier Deschamps. The coach of the Blues has therefore also dismissed the theory of an absence linked to a potential legal case in Sweden following the filing of a complaint by a young woman after a party last October. Relaunched on this subject, the coach then became more enigmatic. “It's my decision, it's better like that. I can understand that it's not enough for you, but I'm not going to get into an argument that leads to interpretations,” he said. “I've had discussions with him, but I'm not going to get into that. You may or may not have information, I speak directly with Kylian. We may not agree with certain subjects, but it is my responsibility to make the decisions. I made this one on this gathering. I repeat it once again: because it is better like “this”. Better for the player or for the French team ? “Better like “this”, the coach then eludes. On the sporting front, the striker also seems to be struggling at Real Madrid. The heavy defeat against Barça during a Clasico where he was mainly flagged for offside 8 times weighed heavily and the new setback in the Champions League against AC Milan (1-3) on Tuesday has plunged the Merengue club into a climate of crisis. “He has scored goals and he will continue to score. He is in a period where he is less effective, obviously. He is highly regarded above and it's quite logical,” said Deschamps. In this context, the coach decided not to call up Kylian Mbappé, unlike Losc goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier, called up for the first time. The complete list of the Blues for the matches against Israel (November 14) and Italy (November 17). Latest updates The list of the Blues is therefore official. If the first call-up of Lucas Chevalier and the return of Adrien Rabiot have been commented on, the announcement of the absence of Kylian Mbappé has relatively overshadowed the sporting context around the Blues who will play on November 14 against Israel at the Stade de France and on November 17 in Milan against Italy. At stake, a qualification for the quarter-finals of the 2024-2025 Nations League. Didier Deschamps does not intend to explain Kylian Mbappé's absence to his squad during the next meeting at Clairefontaine. “My decisions are always important. The players are the players. They are on the pitch, but they do not have to participate in a non-call-up or a call-up. We have to put things into perspective. The 23 who are there will be concerned by the two matches. I am aware that this will occupy a lot of media attention, but I am not going to go into explanations or anything like that. Because I don't see the point in doing it,” the coach said during his press conference. “We may not agree on everything,” explained Didier Deschamps, relaunched on the absence of Kylian Mbappé and possible disagreements with his captain. “These are discussions that I can have with the players. I am not here for the players to tell me that I am the most beautiful and the best. I listen, I have always nourished myself from these discussions, whether individual or collective, by protecting all the players. That's why I can have a lot of discussions that can go beyond the field, because they know very well that we know who spoke if something comes out. These exchanges are important to me. With hindsight, tranquility, as much lucidity as possible, I make the decisions that seem to me to be the best.14:23 – Deschamps on Chevalier's first call-up to the Bleus: “An important step for him”
Lucas Chevalier is joining the Bleus for the first time. “It's an important step for him. Last season, he was “performing. He continues to be so with his club, whether in Ligue 1 or on the European stage,” explained Didier Deschamps about him. “If he is there, it is to the detriment of Areola who is not there. But I said at the last gathering that he was “more than close”. In the absence of Kylian Mbappé, Aurélien Tchouaméni was named captain of the Blues during the October training camp. The Madrid midfielder is also absent due to an ankle injury. When questioned, Didier Deschamps did not want to give the name of his captain for these two matches against Israel and Italy. Ngolo Kanté, Mike Maignan, Adrien Rabiot or Ousmane Dembélé are among the most experienced players in Blue in this group. Here is the complete list of players called up by Didier Deschamps for this November gathering. “I had several discussions with him. I thought about it and I made this decision on this gathering. I think it's better this way. I'm not going to argue. What I can tell you, two things: Mbappé wanted to come, and it's not the extra-sporting problems that come into play from the moment the presumption of innocence exists. It's a one-off choice for this gathering with the two matches that await us”. Relaunched on the subject, the coach was forced to say a little more. “It's my decision and I think it's better like this”, explained Didier Deschamps. “I take responsibility for this decision and can tell you more about it”, he responded to a new question on the subject. “Kylian wanted to come but it was a one-off choice for this gathering,” explained Didier Deschamps. The coach of the Blues denied any extra-sporting reason as an explanation for this absence Lucas Chevalier makes his arrival in Blue, called up as goalkeeper with Mike Maignan and Brice Samba. Didier Deschamps settles in and begins his press conference. If the absence of Kylian Mbappé is confirmed in a few moments by Didier Deschamps, the striker would not make his return to the Blues before March 2025, the potential date of a Nations League quarter-final. For this to happen, the Blues will have to ensure their qualification this November, against Israel on November 14 and Italy on November 17. Announced absent from the list of the Blues which should be communicated by Didier Deschamps in a few minutes, Kylian Mbappé was already absent from the last list communicated in October. The Real striker was then injured according to his club. The list for the October rally also did not include Antoine Griezmann, who had just retired. The list in October – Goalkeepers: Mike Maignan, Brice Samba and Alphonse Areola – Defenders: William Saliba, Ibrahima Konat, Dayot Upamecano, Jules Koundé, Théo Hernandez, Lucas Digne, Wesley Fofana, Jonathan Clauss – Backgrounds: Youssouf Fofana, Aurélien Tchouaméni, Warren Zaïre-Emery, Manu Koné, Eduardo Camavinga, Matteo Guendouzi – Forwards: Randal Kolo Muani, Marcus Thuram, Michael Olise, Ousmane Dembélé, Bradley Barcola, Christopher Nkunku. A regular at Inter Milan, with whom he beat Arsenal on Wednesday in the Champions League (1-0), Benjamin Pavard hopes to make his return to the French national team. The former defender for Lille, Stuttgart and Bayern Munich was absent from the last two meetings, not selected by Didier Deschamps. The hero of France-Argentina 2018 has repeatedly called for a return. Will he be heard? ? Nothing is less certain since his profile as a more axial defender, playing in a 3-man defense in Italy, is less in line with the playing system and profile desired by Deschamps. However, places are expensive in central defense and Jules Koundé seems to have definitively relegated the competition for the right-back position. The coach of the Blues is expected at 2 p.m. in the auditorium of the FFF at Paris. Among the promising young talents of French football, Maghnes Akliouche is regularly presented as a potential future Blue in Didier Deschamps' group. The international hopeful, who participated in the Olympics last summer last with the team led by Thierry Henry, could he still make his appearance in Bleu as early as this November ? His performances in the Champions League and his technical quality make him a contender. But places are expensive and the absence of Aurélien Tchouaméni, injured, should benefit from a relay profile at the heart of the game. Adrien Rabiot seems the ideal candidate at the time to make his return to Bleu. READ MORE
“Better as “this”, many gray areas around Mbappé
14:50 – The press conference is over, see you on November 14 at the Stade de France against Israel
14:47 – An explanation his players on Mbappé's absence ? Deschamps dismisses any announcement
14:32 – Disagreements with Mbappé ? Deschamps responds
14:19 – No captain announced
14:12 – Mbappé absent, the complete explanation of Didier Deschamps
14:10 – Mbappé absent from the list
14:04 – Mbappé will therefore not be back in the Blues before 2025
13:54 – As a reminder, here is Deschamps' list during the last October gathering
13:51 – Pavard on standby, defender pushes for a comeback
13:43 – Only a few minutes left before Deschamps' announcement
13:39 – Maghnes Akliouche's time ?
By Teilor Stone
Teilor Stone has been a reporter on the news desk since 2013. Before that she wrote about young adolescence and family dynamics for Styles and was the legal affairs correspondent for the Metro desk. Before joining Thesaxon , Teilor Stone worked as a staff writer at the Village Voice and a freelancer for Newsday, The Wall Street Journal, GQ and Mirabella. To get in touch, contact me through my teilor@nizhtimes.com 1-800-268-7116