Nations League: France Manager Drops Mbappe

France manager Didier Deschamps says his decision to leave captain Kylian Mbappe out of the squad for this month’s Nations League double-header is a “one-off”.

The Real Madrid forward was not selected for upcoming matches against Israel and Italy.

Mbappe, 25, was left out of France’s squad in October for two Nations League matches as a precaution given he had just returned from injury and had been expected to return for selection this month.

“I’ve had discussions with him, it is a decision that I took for this block of matches only,” Deschamps said at a news conference on Thursday. “Kylian wanted to come.”

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The forward, who joined Real Madrid on a free transfer last summer from Paris St-Germain, has struggled for form since moving to the Bernabeu.

Mbappe has scored eight goals in 15 appearances for the La Liga club but has only netted once in his past five games.

Real, who won both the Champions League and La Liga last season, were beaten 4-0 by rivals Barcelona last month and trail the Catalans by nine points in the league.

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Mbappe, a World Cup winner in 2018, has scored 48 goals in 86 appearances for France.