“It’s a punishment, it’s a sanction!" - Pundit claims Didier Deschamps has dropped Kylian Mbappe from France team

Pundit Daniel Riolo has claimed that France head coach Didier Deschamps has dropped superstar Kylian Mbappe from the national team. This will certainly come as something of a shock, following the 25-year-old's impressive performances for his country over the years.

Since breaking into the first team under Deschamps in March 2017, he has made 86 caps for Les Bleus, scoring 48 goals and providing 35 assists. He won the World Cup with France in 2018, also reaching the final in 2022. However, despite earning the captain's armband, his regular presence in the national team squad has taken a hit.

Kylian Mbappe missed the October international games due to injury. It was widely expected that he would return to the squad for the November games, but Deschamps did not call him up. The head coach explained that it was a "one-off" decision and also had nothing to do with Mbappe being accused of rape in Sweden (via Sky Sports):

"It's my responsibility to make decisions. I think it's better that way. What I can tell you are these two things; one, that Kylian wanted to come. And two, it's not the extra sporting problems that come into play since the presumption of innocence exists and must exist. It's a one-off choice for this gathering."

However, French pundit Daniel Riolo strongly believes Deschamps has dropped Kylian Mbappe, especially as a punishment. He said (via Tribal Football):

“It’s a punishment, it’s a sanction! He doesn’t say it because he doesn’t want to make it clear and break the relationship too much. We were sure he would come. There was no one in his entourage. For now, I think Deschamps’ decision is good and fair."

Riolo continued:

"We may have forgotten it, but last time Mbappe made him look like an idiot. Deschamps stood in front of the microphones to say that Mbappe was a bit injured. Three days later, he started for Real Madrid and told him a degrading story.”

With Kylian Mbappe out of the France squad for their next two games, the forward may get some time to return to top form. He has struggled this season, scoring just three goals from open play in 10 La Liga games.

---

Who will France play against in Kylian Mbappe's absence?

France will return to their Nations League group-stage campaign in mid-November, when they face Israel and Italy. They are currently second place in their group, winning two games against Belgium and one against Israel.

They notably lost 3-1 to Italy in their first Nations League match on September 6 in front of their fans at the Parc des Princes. They are going to hope that this does not repeat itself when they face the Azzurri at the San Siro on November 17.

Before that, their match against Israel will take place on November 14 at their national stadium: Stade de France.