Anthony Martial Excluded From The French Squad, And Deschamps Explains Why
Reuters / Robert Pratta
Anthony Martial has had a season which has been underwhelming by his standards to say the least, and to make matters worse, the striker has been left out of France’s upcoming International fixtures.
The lad burst onto the scene at Old Trafford under Louis Van Gaal last year, but has not been able to impress Jose Mourinho this season, which has seen him fall down the favoured ranks and spend time on the bench more often than any player would like doing so.
When asked about why the talented striker, dubbed as the next Thierry Henry, has been absent from France’s last 4 games and is set to miss the upcoming 3, Didier Deschamps said: “Even though Anthony is playing a little bit more since Zlatan’s injury, he has a limited amount of playing time.
“He’s been doing some good things but he’s not as decisive as he was before. The two things are linked. Perhaps he’s lost a bit of confidence, a bit of rhythm. He has the quality, the potential, as Anthony showed last season. But it’s normal to have a dip – he had a very packed season last year.”
Martial has lately been preferred as the second-choice striker behind Marcus Rashford by Jose Mourinho, and he will be hoping for a change in the summer to come back firing balls into the back of the net for the Red Devils.
Meanwhile, his club teammate Paul Pogba has been chosen by Didier for National duty, and when questioned if the criticism the midfielder has received would have any effect, the boss answered by stating: “He’s played well, he’s been consistent, he’s scored goals and created them.
“He’s also done much better in the way he wins the ball back. I am obviously counting on him.”
Written by Vikram Gupta 
An attacker with his words, and defends each of them with pride. A love for the game which goes hand in hand with his will to forever write. A graduate in the course of advertising and a hopeful to be author. Herrera for the win.