France captain Mbappé on bench vs. Belgium in Nations League

France captain Kylian Mbappé was left out of starting lineup to play Belgium on Monday in UEFA Nations League.

Mbappé played full game in a 3-1 loss to Italy in Paris on Friday and coach Didier Deschamps changed entire forward line to face Belgium in Lyon. Mbappé 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 European Championship.

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

Cristia Ronaldo did t start for Portugal on Sunday, went on as a second-half substitute and scored winning goal against Scotland in Lisbon.