France

Edinson Cavani's hopes of making his Manchester United debut against former club Paris St Germain in the Champions League were dashed after the Uruguayan striker was left out of the traveling squad on Monday.

United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confirmed Cavani as well as captain Harry Maguire, Mason Greenwood, Eric Bailly and Jesse Lingard have missed the trip to the French capital for Tuesday's opening group stage match. Solskjaer confirmed Cavani still needs to work on his fitness levels, while Maguire has sustained a minor knock.

Kylian Mbappé appears to have all the talent to become the next Cristiano Ronaldo. I know, I know — “next Cristiano Ronaldo” is thrown out far too often, but this young man has already won a World Cup and reached the Champions League final all before his 22nd birthday and has repeatedly said he idolizes the Portuguese legend. 

With Mbappé likely to be Ronaldo’s true successor at Real Madrid next summer, it’s a great narrative to say he’ll be replacing his idol, especially when you think about those now-iconic photos of a young Mbappé in his room surrounded by Ronaldo posters.

Olivier Giroud became France's second top scorer when he netted a double to take his international tally to 42 goals as the world champions crushed an injury and COVID-19-ravaged Ukraine 7-1 in a friendly in a near-empty Stade de France on Wednesday.

Giroud, who celebrated winning his 100th cap, found the back of the net twice in the second half to move within nine goals of Thierry Henry's French scoring record. The Chelsea striker leapfrogged Michel Platini, who scored 41 goals from 72 games between 1976-87. 

France coach Didier Deschamps has praised Olivier Giroud's mental toughness and high standards of professionalism as he confirmed the striker will start in Wednesday's friendly against Ukraine to claim his 100th cap for the national team.

Giroud will become the eighth player to join France's exclusive club of centurions alongside Lilian Thuram, Thierry Henry, Marcel Desailly, Hugo Lloris, Zinedine Zidane, Patrick Vieira and Les Bleus boss Deschamps.

Manchester United has agreed a two-year deal with former Paris St Germain striker Edinson Cavani, French daily L'Equipe reported on Saturday.

Uruguay international Cavani is a free agent having left Ligue 1 champions PSG at the end of his contract in June.

Man United are in discussions with Edinson Cavani, according to @RobDawsonESPN. pic.twitter.com/skOCe6H78Z

Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappé became the first person to receive a copy of the upcoming FIFA 21 on Tuesday. 

Mbappé unveiled a special edition of the cover sent by FIFA in personalized packaging made for the 21-year-old French star. 

FIFA 21 @EASPORTSFIFA pic.twitter.com/uTNTHffkkk

In the early stages of the 2020-21 season, Montpellier has taken Ligue 1 by storm.

Michel Der Zakarian's side has been one of the most exciting teams on the continent, in large part thanks to the attacking trident of Andy Delort, Gaëtan Laborde and Téji Savanier. Five games into the campaign, Montpellier is joint-first in goals scored and riding high in third place. 

France forward Kylian Mbappé marked his return to action with a vintage performance and a goal as champions Paris St Germain rediscovered their form with an impressive 3-0 win at Nice in Ligue 1 on Sunday.

Mbappé, who missed the opening three games after contracting the coronavirus, fired PSG ahead with a 38th-minute penalty and had a big part in Angel Di Maria's strike before Marquinhos headed home the third in the second half.

The Ligue 1 match between Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille on Sunday ended in a scuffle between the two sides that resulted in five red cards. The fight was prompted by Marseille center back Alvaro allegedly directing a racist slur toward PSG star Neymar.

This story alone was enough to warrant significant media attention, but the comments made by French Football Federation (FFF) president Nöel Le Graët on Tuesday made the issue even more pertinent.

The start of Paris Saint-Germain’s season went from bad to worse after two straight defeats to open Ligue 1 play. But a sublime Ángel Di María touch vs Metz helped PSG secure its first victory of the new campaign in superb fashion, securing a 1-0 win late over Metz on Wednesday, despite playing the final 30 minutes a man down.