Kimpembe steps in as injury rules Mangala out

Presnel Kimpembe’s impressive early season form for Paris Saint-Germain has earned the 21-year-old an international call-up with France, replacing the injured Eliaquim Mangala.

Kimpembe has established himself in the first-team this season under Unai Emery, making seven appearances in domestic competitions this season.

He is unbeaten in his six Ligue 1 starts and that has clearly been enough to convince Didier Deschamps to name him in his squad for their World Cup qualifiers against Netherlands and Bulgaria.

Mangala was himself called-up to replace Jeremy Mathieu following his retirement from Les Bleus duty, but the Valencia defender was ruled out with a thigh injury on Monday.

France are attempting to kick-start their campaign after the 1998 World Cup winners drew their Group A opener with Belarus 0-0.