PARIS (AP) - Anthony Martial’s recent form for Manchester United has earned him a recall to the France squad.
France coach Didier Deschamps selected Martial when announcing his squad on Thursday for friendlies at home to Wales on Nov. 10 and away to Germany four days later. Martial was a member of France’s European Championship squad last summer, but has not played for Les Bleus since October 2016 when he came on as a substitute in a 1-0 win at the Netherlands.
Martial scored United’s goal in a 1-0 home win against Tottenham in the English Premier League last Saturday. Despite often being used as a substitute, Martial has six goals for United and Deschamps suggested he may start him in one of the games.
“He continues to be effective. He played at the Euro, had a difficult spell after that, and is coming back well,” Deschamps said. “I can see that he’s doing well coming off the bench, but I’m not going to limit him to a substitute’s role.”
Skillful Lyon forward Nabil Fekir was recalled after a flurry of goals, but Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema was again left out.
Deschamps gave first call-ups to Sevilla midfielder Steven Nzonzi and 21-year-old Stuttgart defender Benjamin Pavard.
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