Sissoko, Payet return to France s squad for World Cup qualifiers
Paris Sep 29 (IANS) Moussa Sissoko and Dimitri Payet were recalled to injury-riddled French national football team for 2018 World Cup European qualifiers early in October.
The French team s head coach Didier Deschamps announced a 24-strong squad here for last two group matches against Bulgaria and Belarus on October 7 and 10 respectively reports Xinhua news agency.
Benjamin Mendy Paul Pogba and Ousmane Dembele were sidelined for the two encounters of Les Bleus. Tottenham Hotspur s Sissoko filled the void left by Pogba in the midfield while Marseille s Payet was recruited to replace Nabil Fekir on the attacking line.
After finishing a lackluster 0-0 draw at home against Luxembourg France led Group A with one-point advantage over Sweden.
Nine group winners of European qualifiers will automatically secure spots in World Cup finals while the best eight group runners-up will fight for the remaining four tickets to Russia.
France s 24-member squad: Goalkeepers: Alphonse Areola (Paris Saint-Germain) Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur) Steve Mandanda (Marseille)
Defenders: Lucas Digne (Barcelona) Christophe Jallet (Nice) Presnel Kimpembe (Paris Saint-Germain) Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal) Layvin Kurzawa (Paris Saint-Germain) Djibril Sidibe (Monaco) Samuel Umtiti (Barcelona) Raphael Varane (Real Madrid)
Midfielders: N Golo Kante (Chelsea) Blaise Matuidi (Juventus) Adrien Rabiot (Paris Saint-Germain) Moussa Sissoko (Tottenham Hotspur) Corentin Tolisso (Bayern Munich)
Forwards: Kingsley Coman (Bayern Munich) Olivier Giroud (Arsenal) Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid) Alexandre Lacazette (Arsenal) Thomas Lemar (Monaco) Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain) Dimitri Payet (Marseille) Florian Thauvin (Marseille).
--IANS
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