France boss Didier Deschamps says the door is far from closed on Manchester United forward Anthony Martial’s international future. United ace Martial has not figured for France since playing 58 minutes of an international friendly against Russia in March 2018 and he was subsequently left out of the squad that went on to win the World Cup later that year.
Prior to his current hiatus from the national team, Martial was a regular for Les Bleus and was part of the squad that made it through to the final of Euro 2016 on home soil.
Injuries have been one of the reasons why Martial has been overlooked in recent times, but he has been in impressive form since returning from his latest thigh problem last month, as he has netted three goals in seven appearances for United since.
Indeed, the 23-year-old’s impressive displays had led to speculation he would earn a recall to the France squad for their upcoming Euro 2020 qualifiers against Moldova and Albania, but Chelsea forward Olivier Giroud was given the nod instead, even though he has rarely featured at club level this season.
Deschamps has now defended his decision to pick Giroud ahead of Martial, but he has also not ruled out recalling the former Monaco starlet in the future, as long as he can maintain his form and fitness. “He (Martial) was part of the French team on a regular basis, but recently he was often injured,” Deschamps told reporters. “He came back not so long ago and it’s going well in his role as a central striker with Manchester United. For a long time he’s been part of the players likely to be called up.”
Martial has scored once in 18 appearances for France since making his debut in 2015 and he will be hoping to force his way back into Deschamps’ plans ahead of Euro 2020 next summer.
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