France vs Sweden - France lose injured Coman for Sweden clash

Posted Friday, November 11, 2016 by PA

Thomas Lemar could make his France debut after being called into the squad as a replacement for the injured Kingsley Coman.

Bayern Munich winger Coman hurt his left ankle and knee in training on Wednesday and has been ruled out of Friday's World Cup qualifier against Sweden as well as next week's friendly with Ivory Coast.

That opened the door for Monaco's Lemar, who at 20 becomes the latest young player to be given a chance with the national team by coach Didier Deschamps.

Lemar has been in great form for Monaco this season and has already scored five goals.

On his arrival at France's training base, he told the federation's website: "I am very happy to be here. It is a big honour. It's a new experience to come here. I hope I fit in well and I'll give my maximum for the team."

Lemar has played for every France age group from under-17 after growing up on the island of Guadeloupe and moving to the mainland when he joined Caen in 2010.

"That place means everything to me," said Lemar on beIN Sports.

"My family and my friends are there. I spent 15 years of my life over there. When you're little, you just think about playing, you maybe think about playing in the Champions League one day, or just playing professionally."

It remains to be seen whether Deschamps will throw Lemar into the fray for the key clash against Sweden at the Stade de France.

The teams are locked together at the top of Group A with identical records after two wins and a draw from their opening three matches.

Lemar is the fourth replacement Deschamps has had to call up, with Eliaquim Mangala, Patrice Evra and Benoit Costil previously stepping in for Samuel Umtiti, Layvin Kurzawa and Alphonse Areola.

Sweden have surprised many with their positive start to the campaign following the retirement of talisman Zlatan Ibrahimovic from international football in the summer.

And coach Janne Andersson sees no reason why they cannot continue their good run in Paris.

He told a press conference: "I have confidence in my players, we are on a good run. Of course, it will be a tough game, but if we have a good game, we have our chances.

"We have become accustomed to playing together and I think tactical organisation will be really crucial tomorrow. We have nothing to lose and we will play this match very seriously."