Paris (AFP) – Marcus Thuram, the son of 1998 World Cup winner Lilian Thuram, was called up to France’s squad by coach Didier Deschamps on Thursday for the first time for internationals later this month.
Borussia Moenchengladbach attacker Thuram, 23, could make his debut for the World Cup holders against Finland in a friendly next Wednesday, or in the Nations League fixtures against Portugal on November 14 or Sweden three days later.
Thuram has scored three times in 10 appearances for the Bundesliga side this season and was the first footballer in Germany to take a knee in protest following the death of the 46-year-old African American George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis.
Deschamps said the former Guingamp forward had “gone up a level” since joining Moenchengladbach from French side Guingamp in July 2019.
“He has the ability to make a difference with his power and impact,” said Deschamps, who won the World Cup in the same side as Marcus’ father in 1998 before leading France as coach to glory in Russia two years ago.
Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe is included despite suffering from a hamstring injury that ruled him out of his club’s 2-1 defeat to Leipzig in the Champions League group stage on Wednesday, but Rennes’ prodigious teenager Eduardo Camavinga misses out with a muscle problem.
RB Leipzig defender Dayot Upamecano is also absent after making his international debut in September while Barcelona’s Ousmane Dembele, who last featured for his country in November 2018, is omitted again.
France squad:
Goalkeepers: Benoit Costil (Bordeaux), Hugo Lloris (Tottenham/ENG), Mike Maignan (Lille), Steve Mandanda (Marseille)
Defenders: Lucas Digne (Everton/ENG), Leo Dubois (Lyon), Lucas Hernandez (Bayern Munich/GER), Presnel Kimpembe (Paris Saint-Germain), Clement Lenglet (Barcelona/ESP), Benjamin Pavard (Bayern Munich/GER), Raphael Varane (Real Madrid/ESP), Kurt Zouma (Chelsea/ENG)
Midfielders: N’Golo Kante (Chelsea/ENG), Steven Nzonzi (Rennes), Paul Pogba (Manchester United/ENG), Adrien Rabiot (Juventus/ITA), 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), Anthony Martial (Manchester United/ENG), Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain), Marcus Thuram (Borussia Moenchengladbach/GER)
