Kurt Zouma returns to French national team

There is little reason for Didier Deschamps to mess with his usual selections for World Cup champions France. but not everyone is healthy for their games against Iceland and Germany during the October international break, so a few changes are necessary.

One important player missing is Barcelona’s Samuel Umtiti. But his bad luck is Kurt Zouma’s good fortune, who’s been called up in his stead. Zouma has started four straight Premier League matches at Everton and played in both of their League Cup encounters as well. The Chelsea loanee will be joined by usual Chelsea suspects N’Golo Kanté and Olivier Giroud.

The full squad is as follows, with young Lyon midfield Tanguy Ndombele certainly a name to keep an eye on.:

GOALKEEPERS: Alphonse Areola (Paris Saint-Germain), Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur), Steve Mandanda (Olympique Marseille);

DEFENDERS: Lucas Digne (Everton), Lucas Hernández (Atlético Madrid), Presnel Kimpembe (PSG), Benjamin Pavard (Stuttgart), Mamadou Sakho (Crystal Palace), Djibril Sidibé (Monaco), Raphael Varane (Real Madrid), Kurt Zouma (Everton, on loan from Chelsea);

MIDFIELDERS: N’Golo Kanté (Chelsea), Blaise Matuidi (Juventus), Tanguy Ndombele (Olympique Lyonnais), Steven Nzonzi (Roma), Paul Pogba (Manchester United);

ATTACKERS: Ousmane Dembélé (Barcelona), Nabil Fekir (Lyon), Olivier Giroud (Chelsea), Antoine Griezmann (Atlético Madrid), Thomas Lemar (Atlético Madrid), Kylian Mbappé (PSG), Florian Thauvin (Marseille).