France revealed a 23-man squad - Alexandre Lacazette and Anthony Martial left out of the squad
- France announced a 23-man squad
- Alexandre Lacazette and Anthony Martial named on France’s reserve list
- Olivier Giroud included in the 23-man squad alongside Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappe
France has revealed a 23-man squad for 2018 World Cup, Russia. The squad included few surprises as well as most notable players like Anthony Martial and Alexandre Lacazette missing the game.
Anthony Martial and Alexandre Lacazette, have been left off the squad, with Didier Deschamps naming both on the reserve list.
The French head coach had an embarra s sment of riches to choose from in the forward positions and found no room for the two Premier League stars, who have struggled with form and fitness at times this season.
Chelsea professional striker Oliver Giroud alongside Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Nabil Fekir, Thomas Lemar, Antoine Griezmann and Florian Thauvin has been selected as the final 23-man squad.
Martial will surely be disappointed at his omission but the forward suffered a dip in form at Manchester towards the season’s end. Martial has been in and out of Jose Mourinho's team and has not scored or a s sisted a goal since February.
The news may have shocked Arsenal striker Lacazette, as he was in good form for the Gunners in latter of the season, scoring five and a s sisting one goal in his last six league appearances.
However, Deschamps has selected Griezmann, a diminutive speedster, and Giroud, a tall target man to lead the line for France in the summer games.
Meanwhile, the French coach has shown a lot of faith in Manchester City defender Benjamin Mendy, picking the left back despite a knee injury spent in the vast majority of the season on the sidelines.
Three Premier League players completed the French squad while Kurt Zouma (Chelsea), Mamadou Sakho (Crystal Palace) and Moussa Sissoko (Tottenham) were named on the reserve list.
It was also a bad news for former West Ham star Dimitri Payet, who was excluded from the list entirely after suffering a thigh injury in Wednesday’s Europa League final.
The midfielder left the pitch in tears after half an hour and was later seen in tears again as Atletico lifted the trophy following a 3-0 win.
Here's what you've all been waiting for: our 23-man squad for the 2018 @FIFAWorldCup! #FiersdetreBleus pic.twitter.com/QEuCyMnblb
— French Team (@FrenchTeam) May 17, 2018
France is among the fans favorites in the history of World Cup. France will be playing the group stage matches against Australia, Denmark, and Peru.
France 23-man squad list
|
S.N. |
PLAYER |
CLUB |
AGE |
|
1 |
Tottenham |
32 |
|
|
2 |
Steve Mandanda |
Marseille |
31 |
|
3 |
Alphonse Areola |
PSG |
25 |
|
4 |
Layvin Kurzawa |
PSG |
25 |
|
6 |
Benjamin Mendy |
Manchester City |
23 |
|
7 |
Samuel Umtiti |
Barcelona |
24 |
|
8 |
PSG |
24 |
|
|
9 |
Lucas Hernandez |
Atletico Madrid |
22 |
|
10 |
Benjamin Pavard |
Stuttgard |
22 |
|
11 |
Adil Rami |
Marseille |
32 |
|
12 |
Monaco |
25 |
|
|
13 |
Monaco |
22 |
|
|
14 |
Juventus |
30 |
|
|
15 |
C. Tolisso |
Bayern Munich |
22 |
|
16 |
Manchester United |
24 |
|
|
17 |
Chelsea |
26 |
|
|
18 |
Ousman Dembele |
Barcelona |
21 |
|
19 |
S. Nzonzi |
Sevilla |
27 |
|
20 |
Atletico Madrid |
26 |
|
|
21 |
PSG |
19 |
|
|
22 |
Nabil Fakir |
Lyon |
24 |
|
23 |
Arsenal |
31 |
Reserves
Ben Yedder, Coman, Costil, Debuchy, Digne, Lacazette, Martial, Rabiot, Sakho, Sissoko, Zouma.