France, Nov. 7 -- Mbappe scored his 67th international goal to propel France to a 1-0 victory over Turkey in Izmit in October and successfully launch Zidane's reign as head coach.

But minutes after the strike, the 27-year-old was forced to leave the fray nursing a knee injury that kept him out of France's next three games.

He returns to the national team overshadowed by a row with Chinese sponsors following his comments on the internet about the former Chinese leader Mao Zedong.

Despite apologies from Mbappe, his club Real Madrid and the organisers of Spain's top-flight division, Chinese state TV has refused to televise Spanish matches.

Pagis carries no such baggage. He made the 23-man list after the Paris Saint-Germain forward Maghne...