Share

Laporte included in France squad for Euro 2020 qualifiers

Paris - France coach Didier Deschamps has included Manchester City centre-back Aymeric Laporte in his squad announced on Thursday for next month's Euro 2020 qualifying double header against Albania and Andorra.

Laporte, 25, was last called up to a squad in March 2017 but has never been capped by France at full international level.

This time he has been preferred to Barcelona's Samuel Umtiti, meaning there is a total of 10 players in the squad who did not take part in France's triumphant 2018 World Cup campaign.

There is also a first call-up for the 21-year-old Lille forward Jonathan Ikone, who is included with Kylian Mbappe absent due to a hamstring injury.

Other notable injury absentees include Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembele and Manchester United's Anthony Martial.

France are top of Euro 2020 qualifying Group H with nine points from four games, although they are ahead of both Turkey and Iceland only on goal difference.

They won 4-0 away to minnows Andorra in their last qualifier in June.

The World Cup holders welcome Albania to the Stade de France on September 7 and then entertain Andorra at the same venue three days later.

FRANCE FULL SQUAD:

Goalkeepers

Alphonse Areola (Paris Saint-Germain), Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur/ENG), Mike Maignan (Lille)

Defenders

Lucas Digne (Everton/ENG), Leo Dubois (Lyon), Clement Lenglet (Barcelona/ESP), Lucas Hernandez (Bayern Munich/GER), Aymeric Laporte (Manchester City/ENG), Benjamin Pavard (Bayern Munich/GER), Raphael Varane (Real Madrid/ESP), Kurt Zouma (Chelsea/ENG)

Midfielders

Blaise Matuidi (Juventus/ITA), Steven Nzonzi (Galatasaray/TUR), Paul Pogba (Manchester United/ENG), Moussa Sissoko (Tottenham/ENG), Corentin Tolisso (Bayern Munich/GER)

Forwards

Wissam Ben Yedder (Monaco), Kingsley Coman (Bayern Munich/GER), Nabil Fekir (Real Betis/ESP), Olivier Giroud (Chelsea/ENG), Antoine Griezmann (Barcelona/ESP), Jonathan Ikone (Lille), Thomas Lemar (Atletico Madrid/ESP) 

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
How much would you be prepared to pay for a ticket to watch the Springboks play against the All Blacks at Ellis Park or Cape Town Stadium this year?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
R0 - R200
33% - 1811 votes
R200 - R500
32% - 1769 votes
R500 - R800
19% - 1074 votes
R800 - R1500
8% - 456 votes
R1500 - R2500
3% - 184 votes
I'd pay anything! It's the Boks v All Blacks!
5% - 252 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE