First French Call-up For Defender Laporte

PARIS, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News -29th Sep,2016) : French coach Didier Deschamps called up Athletic Bilbao defender Aymeric Laporte for the first time on Thursday for tricky World Cup qualifiers against Bulgaria and the Netherlands.

The 22-year-old centre-back had expressed frustration at being left out of the squad that started the 2018 qualifying campaign earlier this month with a drab 0-0 draw at Belarus and there were suggestions he could opt to represent Spain instead.

Laporte had played for France's youth and under-21 teams. Deschamps, who gives Laporte his chance after injuries to Samuel Umtiti and Adil Rami, said it had nothing to do with the fear of losing him to Spain.

"He is someone that we have been following and his time has come," Deschamps said. "I chose from the players that were available. It can happen that there are players injured or unavailable, but at no time would I choose a player for reasons other than what is best for the French team." Deschamps recalled captain and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, who missed the start of the season through injury, forwards Nabil Fekir and Kingsley Coman, defenders Bacary Sagna and Jeremy Mathieu, and midfielder Yohan Cabaye.

France squad for qualifiers home to Bulgaria on October 7 and away at the Netherlands on October 10. Goalkeepers: Alphonse Areola (Paris SG), Hugo Lloris (Tottenham/ENG), Steve Mandanda (Crystal Palace/ENG) Defenders: Lucas Digne (Barcelona/ESP), Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal/ENG), Layvin Kurzawa (Paris SG), Aymeric Laporte (Athletic Bilbao/ESP), Jeremy Mathieu (Barcelona/ESP), Bacary Sagna (Manchester City/ENG), Djibril Sidibe (Monaco), Raphael Varane (Real Madrid/ESP) Midfielders: Yohan Cabaye (Crystal Palace/ENG), N'Golo Kante (Chelsea/ENG), Blaise Matuidi (Paris SG), Dimitri Payet (West Ham/ENG), Paul Pogba (Manchester United/ENG), Moussa Sissoko (Tottenham/ENG) Attackers: Kingsley Coman (Bayern Munich/GER), Nabil Fekir (Lyon), Kevin Gameiro (Atletico Madrid/ESP), Andre-Pierre Gignac (Tigres/MEX), Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid/ESP), Anthony Martial (Manchester United/ENG)