Didier Deschamps, the coach of the Blues, delivered his latest list this Thursday. Without Ousmane Dembélé and without Désiré Doué.
The French team must face Ukraine and Azerbaijan on November 13 and 16 as part of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. This Thursday, Didier Deschamps presented to the press the list of 24 players selected for the occasion. With significant absences in attack since the Parisians Ousmane Dembélé and Désiré Doué are notably missing.
Last September, these two players precisely returned from selection injured. A situation which provoked the ire of PSG, which then sent a vitriolic letter addressed to the French Football Federation “ in order to urgently call for a new medical-sports coordination protocol between clubs and national selection, more transparent and collaborative, to make the health of players and their medical support an absolute priority “.
Since then, relations between the capital club and the FFF – especially the national coach – have cooled significantly. So much so that Didier Deschamps did not really hide the uneasiness in his responses today to the Dembélé case. “ It’s not a good thing not to have him with us, but don’t count on me to put a piece back in the machine with PSG. They made decisions, like us. »
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“ I don’t give lessonscontinues the Bayonne technician, thus relayed by L’Equipe, while the Parisian management had openly questioned the French staff in the management of the injuries of Doué and Dembélé two months ago. I would never allow myself to say anything about PSG, Marseille or any club. They are in their daily lives, they make their decisions, as we have to do. »
And to return to the communication process between the clubs and the national selection: “ There have always been exchanges, with examinations, images, which are communicated in one direction or the other. Afterwards, that at some point our interests are not the same, that is a certainty. I am not here to modify the medical protocol, even if there are requests made which have not yet been validated. Can clubs have greater decision-making power than the selections? I’m not here to decide that. »
