28.09.2017 14:40 h

Kurzawa keeps France place as Payet recalled

Paris Saint-Germain defender Layvin Kurzawa retained his place in the France squad on Thursday for next month's World Cup qualifiers despite a video of him criticising national coach Didier Deschamps.

Marseille midfielder Dimitri Payet and Tottenham Hotspur's Moussa Sissoko were also named in a 24-man squad for the October 7 clash away to Bulgaria and home tie with Belarus three days later.

France lead Group A by a point from Sweden going into the final two rounds of matches but were held to an embarrassing 0-0 draw by minnows Luxembourg in Toulouse in their most recent outing.

Deschamps will be without the sidelined trio of Paul Pogba, Ousmane Dembele and Benjamin Mendy as France look to nail down top spot and clinch automatic qualification for next year's tournament in Russia.

France squad

Goalkeepers: Alphonse Areola (Paris SG), Hugo Lloris (Tottenham/ENG), Steve Mandanda (Marseille)

Defenders: Lucas Digne (Barcelona/ESP), Christophe Jallet (Nice), Presnel Kimpembe (Paris SG), Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal/ENG), Layvin Kurzawa (Paris SG), Djibril Sidibe (Monaco), Samuel Umtiti (Barcelona/ESP), Raphael Varane (Real Madrid/ESP)

Midfielders: N'Golo Kante (Chelsea/ENG), Blaise Matuidi (Juventus/ITA), Adrien Rabiot (Paris SG), Moussa Sissoko (Tottenham/ENG), Corentin Tolisso (Bayern Munich/GER)

Forwards: Kingsley Coman (Bayern Munich/GER), Olivier Giroud (Arsenal/ENG), Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid/ESP), Alexandre Lacazette (Arsenal/ENG), Thomas Lemar (Monaco), Kylian Mbappe (Paris SG), Dimitri Payet (Marseille), Florian Thauvin (Marseille)