Football
Ian Holyman, France correspondent 7y

Kylian Mbappe in France squad but Ousmane Dembele misses out

Paris Saint-Germain target Kylian Mbappe has been included in France's squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Netherlands and Luxembourg, but Ousmane Dembele's transfer dispute with Borussia Dortmund means he has not been picked.

Mbappe, 18, has featured just once for Monaco this season -- in their Ligue 1 opener against Toulouse -- and after then being an unused substitute for their next encounter, he was left out of the matchday squad for last weekend's meeting with Metz.

He is reportedly set to also miss his club's league game with Marseille on Sunday as the details of his proposed move to Paris Saint-Germain are ironed out.

France boss Didier Deschamps has, however, included Mbappe, who has four caps, in his 24-man squad to face Netherlands on Aug. 31 and Luxembourg on Sept. 3.

"There's a lot of talk around him, about whether he will change club or not," the former France captain said. "In spite of that, even if he hasn't been involved in Monaco's last two matches, he's someone who is active, who is training."

Dembele, who -- like Mbappe -- featured in France's friendly with England in June, has not been selected by Deschamps with the former Rennes winger in a dispute with Dortmund over his wish to move to Barcelona.

Dembele, who has seven senior caps for his country, has been suspended by the Bundesliga side since failing to turn up for training in mid-August.

"The situation is almost the same as with Mbappe, but Ousmane has not trained for two weeks. He's waiting for a transfer that we don't know will happen. He's put himself in a tricky situation with his club. It's up to them and their advisors to see what's best for the player. I can't take someone who's inactive and who doesn't know what tomorrow will bring," Deschamps said.

"I'm not annoyed with him. We've spoken about it and he would have liked it to have been sorted out quicker. We don't even know if it will be sorted out between now and then. It's something that puts him in a difficult position in relation to the squad as he has put himself on the fringes and there are other players pushing. It's going to be difficult for him if he has to go back to Dortmund."

Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema's international exile was extended as he was not included once again, meaning he has not played for his country since October 2015.

"You know my position on Benzema, it hasn't changed since June," Deschamps said. "Before each squad announcement, I take decisions, I think about it. I'm not saying it's definitive, because I don't have to take a radical decision today."

Tottenham goalkeeper and France captain Hugo Lloris, Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kante, Paul Pogba of Manchester United, and Arsenal trio Laurent Koscielny, Olivier Giroud and Alexandre Lacazette were selected, but Manchester City's new signing Benjamin Mendy, and Chelsea's new arrival Tiemoue Bakayko were left out.

Full squad:

Goalkeepers: Alphonse Areola, Hugo Lloris, Steve Mandanda

Defenders: Lucas Digne, Christophe Jallet, Presnel Kimpembe, Laurent Koscielny, Layvin Kurzawa, Djibril Sidibe, Samuel Umtiti, Raphael Varane

Midfielders: Ngolo Kante, Thomas Lemar, Blaise Matuidi, Paul Pogba, Adrien Rabiot, Corentin Tolisso

Forwards: Kingsley Coman, Nabil Fekir, Olivier Giroud, Antoine Griezmann, Alexandre Lacazette, Kylian Mbappé, Florian Thauvin

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