The French team will face Israel and Belgium in two Nations League matches which will take place on October 10 and 14 in Budapest (Bozsik Arena) and Brussels (King Baudouin Stadium).
After a defeat (3-1) against Italy and an unconvincing victory against Belgium (2-0) in September, the list of 23 players selected was eagerly awaited by observers. Didier Deschamps reshaped his team to compensate for the absences of several executives.
Nkunku is back
Deschamps has decided to trust his usual team, with the exception of Antoine Griezmann, who announced his international retirement on Monday. To replace him, the coach chose to recall Christopher Nkunku (6 goals in 9 appearances in all competitions), who has been shining since the start of the season with Chelsea. The last match of the Blues striker in the rooster jersey dates back to June 13, 2022, during the defeat against Croatia (0-1) during the 4th day of the Nations League.
We also note the absences of N’Golo Kanté, injured, and Kylian Mbappé. Returning from a hamstring injury this Wednesday during Real Madrid’s defeat at Lille (1-0), the captain of the Blues was authorized to stay in Madrid. Adrien Rabiot will not be present during this gathering either. Not summoned last month, the new recruit from Olympique de Marseille would not yet be in full possession of his means. However, the Bayonne technician should be able to compensate for this lack with the presence of Mattéo Guendouzi and Eduardo Camavinga, recently recovered from his knee injury.
