Anthony
Martial and Alexandre Lacazette have both been left out of France's squad for
this summer's World Cup with Didier Deschamps naming both on the reserve list
instead.
The France
head coach had an embarrassment 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
striker Olivier Giroud does make the final 23-man squad along with Kylian
Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Nabil Fekir, Thomas Lemar, Antoine Griezmann and
Florian Thauvin.
Martial will
be disappointed but perhaps not surprised at his omission after his dip in form
at Manchester United towards the end of the season. The 22-year-old has been in
and out of Jose Mourinho's team and has not scored or assisted a goal since
February.
The news may
have come as more of a shock to Arsenal striker Lacazette, who was in good form
for the Gunners in the latter stages of the season, scoring five in his last
seven starts and assisting once.
However,
there was incredible competition for places in France's attacking squad and
Lacazette's role as an out-and-out striker went against him. With Griezmann — a
diminutive speedster — and Giroud — a tall target-man — both offering more
unique attributes, the decision to leave Lacazette on ice became clear.
Deschamps
has showed a lot of faith in picking Manchester City defender Benjamin Mendy.
The left back spent the vast majority of the season on the sidelines with a
knee injury and has not started a match since September.
He did,
however, make his return in April and made four appearances from the bench to
help Pep Guardiola's team to reach 100 points in the Premier League.
N'Golo Kante
(Chelsea), Hugo Lloris (Tottenham) and Paul Pogba (Manchester United) complete
Premier League involvement in the French squad while Kurt Zouma (Chelsea),
Mamadou Sakho (Crystal Palace) and Moussa Sissoko (Tottenham) were named on the
reserve list.
There was
also bad news for former West Ham star Dimitri Payet, who was left off 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.
Although the
severity of his injury is yet to be confirmed, doubts over his fitness and the
availability of other players of a similar quality meant Deschamps did not have
to take the risk.
His
Marseille team-mate Florian Thauvin was included in the squad after a fantastic
season for the Ligue 1 club. Famous for his failed spell at Newcastle, Thauvin
has flourished this term, scoring 22 goals and providing 11 assists in the
league alone.
France are
among the favourites to win the World Cup this summer and should find easy
passage into the knockout rounds after drawing Australia, Denmark and Peru in
the group stages.
FRANCE WORLD
CUP SQUAD
FIRST 23
Goalkeepers:
Areola, Lloris, Mandanda
Defenders:
Hernandez, Kimpembe, Mendy, Pavard, Rami, Sidibe, Umtiti, Varane.
Midfielders:
Kante, Matuidi, N'Zonzi, Pogba, Tolisso
Forwards: O.
Dembele, Fekir, Giroud, Griezmann, Lemar, Mbappe, Thauvin.
RESERVES
Ben Yedder,
Coman, Costil, Debuchy, Digne, Lacazette, Martial, Rabiot, Sakho, Sissoko,
Zouma.
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