French national soccer coach Didier Deschamps has called up striker Marcus Thuram from Bundesliga side Borussia Mönchengladbach for Qatar’s World Cup squad.
As the association announced, the 25-year-old received the last free place in the squad of the world champions from 1998 and 2018. Thuram has played four international matches so far.
Six Bundesliga professionals
Deschamps is taking a total of six Bundesliga professionals to Qatar. In addition to Leipzig’s Christopher Nkunku, the squad includes Bayern players Lucas Hernández, Benjamin Pavard, Dayot Upamecano and Kingsley Coman.
AS Monaco defender Axel Disasi has also been called up to take the place of Presnel Kimpembé, who has not fully recovered. The 27-year-old Kimpembé from Paris Saint Germain had injured his right Achilles tendon almost two weeks ago and was hoping for a speedy recovery.
The “Team Tricolore” plays in Group D against Australia on November 22, followed by the games against Denmark (November 26) and Tunisia (November 30). In the 2018 World Cup final, France beat Croatia 4-2 in Moscow.