Captain and vice-captain of the French national team, Kylian Mbappé and Antoine Griezmann will be absent for the upcoming matches against Belgium and Israel. However, their reasons for missing out are quite different. For the Real Madrid player, the decision was made to prioritize his recovery. Struggling with a thigh injury sustained 10 days ago, he returned to action against Lille in the Champions League (in a 0-1 defeat for Real Madrid), but he is not yet at full fitness and will remain in the Spanish capital for continued treatment and physical readjustment. "He has a problem that is not serious, but he needs care to recover well. I am not here to take risks," confirmed Didier Deschamps on Thursday, October 3, during the announcement of his squad.

On the other hand, Griezmann has closed the door on the national team by ending his international career at the age of 33.

In their absence, which hasn't happened since November 2013, other players will take on new responsibilities. "I have a young group with quality, but they need to establish themselves. There are various types of leadership. Naturally, there will be space with Antoine's international retirement and Kylian Mbappé's absence," explained the French coach. The captain's armband is expected to go to Mike Maignan, a calm pillar in the locker room who is well-respected by his teammates. The AC Milan goalkeeper is a strong character and has proven to be a leader by speaking up during the last training camp.

Although he could have played a more significant role due to his experience, N'Golo Kanté will also be absent due to a physical issue.

Michael Olise, who has confirmed his good start to the season with Bayern Munich, has been logically called up by Deschamps, along with Manu Koné. Notably, Christopher Nkunku returns to the national team, having regained excellent form (6 goals in 9 matches) with Chelsea, where he competes alongside Nicolas Jackson. However, despite a standout performance against Real Madrid yesterday, Lucas Chevalier does not feature in the 23-man squad. "He is getting closer, but the three (Maignan, Samba, and Areola) here have not lowered their level. I didn’t need Wednesday’s game to know their potential. This imposes the obligation for all three to maintain their performance, and I am not closing the door on the possibility of opening it for him later," simply stated the French coach.

All players are called to Clairefontaine at the beginning of next week, and then they will travel to Hungary to face Israel at the Bozsik Aréna in Budapest in a week, followed by a second match in Belgium on October 14.