Jeremy Mathieu axed by France after being picked

France coach Didier Deschamps has called up Eliaquim Mangala instead of Jeremy Mathieu for the next set of international fixtures, 

France will play against Bulgaria and Holland in qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup. Deschamps has modified his squad for the matches on October 7 and 10 respectively.

"After a chat with Jeremy Mathieu, the coach has decided not to keep the FC Barcelona centre-back in the list of players for the France team's games," said the French Football Federation on their website. 

Mathieu was not utilised by Deschamps in Septembers international fixtures, before being called up for October's - and then suddenly dropped.