Monaco sensation Mbappe earns first call in France football squad

Paris, March 17 (IANS): Teenage striker Kylian Mbappe got the nod from France’s football squad for the first time as head coach Didier Deschamp named a 24-member squad here. Mbappe, who scored 11 goals in his last 11 appearances for Monaco, on Wednesday helped the Ligue 1 club eliminate Manchester City in the Champions League last 16 with his opening goal. “Quality doesn’t have an age. We have already chosen many young players before him, and I think it’s a good time,” commented Deschamp on Thursday. France will visit Luxembourg in the 2018 World Cup qualifications on March 25, and host Spain in a friendly three days later. Mbappe joined his Monaco teammate Benjamin Mendy, Florian Thauvin of Marseille and Corentin Tolisso of Lyon as four newcomers to the national squad. Ligue 1 defending champions Paris Saint-Germain contributed five players to Deschamp’s newly-selected roster, followed by leaders Monaco, who had four promising stars in. France lead World Cup qualifying Group A by three points, after recording three wins and one draw in previous rounds. France squad: Goalkeepers: Alphonse Areola (Paris Saint-Germain), Benoit Costil (Rennes), Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur) Defenders: Presnel Kimpembe (Paris Saint-Germain), Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal), Layvin Kurzawa (Paris Saint-Germain), Benjamin Mendy (Monaco), Adil Rami (Sevilla), Bacary Sagna (Manchester City), Djibril Sidibe (Monaco), Samuel Umtiti (Barcelona) Midfielders: N’Golo Kante (Chelsea), Thomas Lemar (Monaco), Blaise Matuidi (Paris Saint-Germain), Paul Pogba (Manchester United), Adrien Rabiot (Paris Saint-Germain), Corentin Tolisso (Lyon) Forwards: Ousmane Dembele (Borussia Dortmund), Kevin Gameiro (Atletico Madrid), Olivier Giroud (Arsenal), Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid), Kylian Mbappe (Monaco), Dimitri Payet (Marseille), Florian Thauvin (Marseille).