'Effective' Martial earns France recall
Fresh from netting the winner against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, Manchester United forward Anthony Martial was rewarded on Thursday with a call-up to Didier Deschamps's France squad.
Having scored six goals in all competitions this season despite sharing left-wing duties at Old Trafford with England's Marcus Rashford, Martial earned his first national selection in a year.
"He remains effective. He hasn't been with us for the last five or six gatherings but Anthony was with us (before), he was at the Euros," said coach Deschamps of the 21-year-old, who has scored just once for France in 15 caps.
"He had a difficult period but he's come back well. I've seen him perform when coming off the bench but I'm not going to pigeon-hole him as a substitute."
All four of Martial's Premier League goals for United this season have come as a substitute, however he has scored in both the Champions League and League Cup when starting the game.
Lyon forward Nabil Fekir was also recalled for the French squad while midfielder Steven N'Zonzi and defender Benjamin Pavard have been included for the first time.
Deschamps is without a number of established stars for France's friendlies against Wales on November 10 and Germany four days later.
Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, Chelsea's midfield enforcer N'Golo Kante, Marseille forward Dimitri Payet and Monaco pair Djibril Sidibe and Thomas Lemar will all miss out due to injury.
Deschamps was already without Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba, Manchester City full-back Benjamin Mendy and talented Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembele.
"Hugo was injured yesterday (Wednesday playing for Spurs against Real Madrid), he underwent exams this morning which confirmed he has a groin tear, meaning he will be out for two weeks," said Deschamps of his captain Lloris.
"Benjamin (Pavard) has been playing very well for his club (Stuttgart) and for the French under-21s.
"Fundamentally he's a centre-back but he can play in other positions."
Sevilla's N'Zonzi, formerly of Blackburn Rovers and Stoke City, has been brought in as cover for Kante.
"Steven is 28, he played for the under-21s a long time ago, he played very well last season with a lot of competition for his position," said Deschamps.
"He's made a good start to the season with Sevilla."
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Alphonse Areola (Paris SG), Benoit Costil (Bordeaux), Steve Mandanda (Marseille)
Defenders: Lucas Digne (Barcelona/ESP), Christophe Jallet (Nice), Presnel Kimpembe (Paris SG), Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal/ENG), Layvin Kurzawa (Paris SG), Benjamin Pavard (Stuttgart/GER), Samuel Umtiti (Barcelona/ESP), Raphael Varane (Real Madrid/ESP)
Midfielders: Blaise Matuidi (Juventus/ITA), Steven N'Zonzi (Sevilla/ESP), Adrien Rabiot (Paris SG), Moussa Sissoko (Tottenham/ENG), Corentin Tolisso (Bayern Munich/GER)
Forwards: Kingsley Coman (Bayern Munich/GER), Nabil Fekir (Lyon), Olivier Giroud (Arsenal/ENG), Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid/ESP), Alexandre Lacazette (Arsenal/ENG), Anthony Martial (Manchester United/ENG), Kylian Mbappe (Paris SG), Florian Thauvin (Marseille)
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