France captain Mbappe benched as national teams rest and rotate

LYON, France (AP) — France captain Kylian Mbappe was left out of the starting lineup to play Belgium on Monday in the UEFA Nations League.

Mbappe played the full game in a 3-1 loss to Italy in Paris on Friday and coach Didier Deschamps changed the entire forward line to face Belgium in Lyon. Mbappe was replaced by Marcus Thuram in a central role.

Top European national teams have this week been rotating and resting star players who had limited preseason preparation in August after the European Championship.

Euro 2024 winner Spain let 17-year-old winger Lamine Yamal play only the first half in a 4-1 win against Switzerland on Sunday. Spain captain Rodri played his first competitive minutes of the season in Geneva after being rested by Manchester City in its three English Premier League games so far.

Cristiano Ronaldo did not start for Portugal on Sunday, went on as a second-half substitute and scored the winning goal against Scotland in Lisbon.

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