France captain Kylian Mbappe is facing criticism back home for failing to prepare for Nations League matches against Israel and Belgium.
Remarkably, he is still available for Real Madrid. The 25-year-old suffered a muscle injury last month but has returned to play in Los Blancos' last two Champions League games (lost to Nice) and started last weekend's La Liga win over Villarreal.
France coach Didier Deschamps left Mbappe out of the squad he announced on Thursday - a day after Mbappe made his Champions League debut - saying he lacked preparation due to playing too few games.
"Either you are injured, and you don't play for your club, then you don't get called up to the national team," former international Maxime Bossis told L'Equipe on Monday (October 7).
"But when you come off the bench in the Champions League and start a La Liga game, everything becomes ambiguous. He is a special player. We knew that with Michel Platini, when we still wanted him to stay with us when he was injured."
Mbappe's situation is more complicated because the former Paris St Germain player is France captain after being handed the armband over Antoine Griezmann, who announced his retirement from international football last week.
Griezmann's commitment to Les Bleus has never been in doubt as the Atletico Madrid forward played a record 84 consecutive games for his country between 2017 and 2024.
"As captain, (Mbappe) has to be an example for the fans and he hasn't done that," Fabien Bonnet, spokesman for Irresistibles Francais, Les Bleus' main fan group, told L'Equipe.
"What has emerged is that the real captain, Antoine Griezmann, is gone."
France, who finished second in Group A2, will face Israel in Budapest on Thursday (October 10) and travel to Belgium next Monday.
