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France Call up Olise again as Mbappe Rested for Nations League games

Soccer Football - Nations League - League A - Group 2 - France v Italy - Parc des Princes, Paris, France - September 6, 2024 France's Kylian Mbappe and Michael Olise during the warm up before the match REUTERS/Christian Hartmann/File Photo
Soccer Football - Nations League - League A - Group 2 - France v Italy - Parc des Princes, Paris, France - September 6, 2024 France's Kylian Mbappe and Michael Olise during the warm up before the match REUTERS/Christian Hartmann/File Photo
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France Call up Olise again as Mbappe Rested for Nations League games

Soccer Football - Nations League - League A - Group 2 - France v Italy - Parc des Princes, Paris, France - September 6, 2024 France's Kylian Mbappe and Michael Olise during the warm up before the match REUTERS/Christian Hartmann/File Photo
Soccer Football - Nations League - League A - Group 2 - France v Italy - Parc des Princes, Paris, France - September 6, 2024 France's Kylian Mbappe and Michael Olise during the warm up before the match REUTERS/Christian Hartmann/File Photo

France have again called up Michael Olise as they prepare for this month's Nations League games against Israel and Belgium without Kylian Mbappe who has been struggling with injury.

The 22-year-old English-born midfielder won his first two caps against Italy and Belgium last month and in the absence of midfielder Antoine Griezmann, who announced his retirement from international football earlier this week, the Bayern Munich player was once more picked by Didier Deschamps on Thursday, Reuters reported.

Captain Mbappe, who picked up a muscle injury last month playing for Real Madrid in LaLiga, featured for 35 minutes in the club's 1-0 Champions League loss at Lille on Wednesday, but the forward was not deemed fit enough for international duty.

"He has a problem that is not serious. I'm not here to take risks, which is why Kylian isn't on the list," Deschamps told a press conference.

Chelsea striker Christopher Nkunku was also called up 15 months after claiming his last cap in a 1-0 win against Greece.

France are second in Group A2 with three points from two games, three points behind Italy. They face Israel in Budapest on Oct. 10 and Belgium in Brussels four days later.

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Badosa Ends Zhang's Resurgence at China Open

Paula Badosa of Spain celebrates after winning the China Open tennis tournament women's singles match against Zhang Shuai of China at the National Tennis Center in Beijing, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
Paula Badosa of Spain celebrates after winning the China Open tennis tournament women's singles match against Zhang Shuai of China at the National Tennis Center in Beijing, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
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Badosa Ends Zhang's Resurgence at China Open

Paula Badosa of Spain celebrates after winning the China Open tennis tournament women's singles match against Zhang Shuai of China at the National Tennis Center in Beijing, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
Paula Badosa of Spain celebrates after winning the China Open tennis tournament women's singles match against Zhang Shuai of China at the National Tennis Center in Beijing, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

Zhang Shuai’s drought-busting week came to a shuddering halt as Paula Badosa continued her own resurgence in a 6-1, 7-6 (4) victory to make the China Open semifinals on Thursday.
The 19th-ranked Spaniard has won 28 of her last 35 matches dating to May and made the semifinals of three of her past five tournaments. There was also a run to the US Open quarterfinals last month.
But the story of the week has been the 35-year-old Zhang, who entered the China Open on a 24-match losing streak — the second longest in the Open era — and ranked No. 595. She didn't drop a set in four matches this week.
The Chinese wild card had no answer, though, to Badosa's fast start as the Spaniard made three service breaks to comfortably claim the opening set.
It was much closer in the second set as Badosa found herself down 3-1. She rallied and edged Zhang in the tiebreak.
The former No. 2-ranked Badosa will play No. 6 Coco Gauff or No. 115 Yuliia Starodubtseva, who play later Thursday.
Gauff advanced to the quarterfinals after four-time major winner Naomi Osaka was forced to retire because of a lower back injury. The American helped carry Osaka’s bags off the court.
Shanghai Masters Italy's Matteo Berrettini bounced back from the disappointment of an injury ending his Japan Open last week by squeezing past Christopher O'Connell 7-6, (9) 7-6 (6) in the Shanghai first round.
The Italian, who retired with an abdominal injury in the second round in Tokyo last Friday, had his fitness given a stern examination by the Australian in a lung-busting match lasting two hours, 13 minutes.
Next up for the former Wimbledon finalist is No. 14-ranked Holger Rune.
Other first-round winners included Marcos Giron, David Goffin, Jaume Munar, Zhou Yi, Jakub Mensik and Miomir Kecmanovic.
The 32 seeded players received a first-round bye, including top-ranked Jannik Sinner and second-ranked Carlos Alcaraz, who won the China Open against the Italian on Wednesday. Sinner starts against Taro Daniel of Japan, and Alcaraz faces Shang Juncheng of China.