Didier Deschamps has announced his France squad for Les Bleus’ upcoming Euro 2020 qualifying games and Barcelona defender Clement Lenglet is one of three players to have earned their first national team call-up.
The France boss has also handed Leo Dubois and Mike Maignan their first involvements with the national team.
There are a few surprising omissions, however, the most notable being Arsenal’s Alexandre Lacazette, who has been snubbed in favour of Sevilla striker Wissam Ben Yedder and Chelsea frontman Olivier Giroud.
Lacazette won Arsenal’s player of the season award, hitting 19 goals and recording 13 assists across all competitions to help the Gunners to the Europa League final, but has been consistently left out by Deschamps.
Less surprising is the absence of Manchester City centre-half Aymeric Laporte, whose poor relationship with the World Cup-winning head coach is well-documented.
In his place is 23-year-old Barcelona centre-back Lenglet, who has made 44 appearances across all competitions, keeping compatriot Samuel Umtiti out of the side even after his return from injury and helping the club to the La Liga title and a Copa del Rey final.
Dubois, a full-back who joined Lyon from Nantes on a free transfer this summer, along with Maignan, first-choice between the sticks for an impressive Lille outfit that finished second in Ligue 1 this season, have both more than earned their chances.
Here is the full squad:
Goalkeepers: Alphonse Areola (PSG), Benjamin Lecomte (Montpellier), Hugo Lloris (Tottenham), Mike Maignan (Lille)
Defenders: Lucas Digne (Everton), Clement Lenglet (Barcelona) Ferland Mendy (Lyon), Benjamin Pavard (Stuttgart), Leo Dubois (Lyon), Raphael Varane (Real Madrid), Samuel Umtiti (FC Barcelona), Kurt Zouma (Everton)
Midfielders: N’Golo Kante (Chelsea), Blaise Matuidi (Juventus), Tanguy Ndombele (Lyon), Paul Pogba (Manchester United), Moussa Sissoko (Tottenham)
Forwards: Wissam Ben Yedder (Sevilla), Kingsley Coman (Bayern Munich), Olivier Giroud (Chelsea), Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid), Kylian Mbappe (PSG), Florian Thauvin (Marseille)
France will host Bolivia in a friendly before travelling to Turkey and Andorra as they continue their Euro 2020 qualification campaign, which began with 4-1 and 4-0 wins over Moldova and Iceland, respectively.
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