France manager Didier Deschamps announced Les Bleus’ 2018 World Cup squad on Thursday night, with Alexandre Lacazette and Anthony Martial the most notable omissions.
The France boss had a wealth of attacking talent from which to pick his 23-man squad and there were understandably a few players who wouldn’t quite make the cut despite being top talents.
Asked about the likes of Manchester United’s Martial and Arsenal’s Lacazette missing out on selection, Deschamps told the press: “I know you’re asking me questions about who is not here, and people are going to ask them again, but I’ve already answered them.
“Two years have passed, I’ve stuck with the players who responded to my trust. I put the group on top of everything and from there, I make choices that in my opinion are for the good of the France team.”
Deschamps’ charges are one of the favourites to claim the World Cup trophy in Russia, alongside Germany, Brazil, Spain, and Argentina. They have been drawn in Group C along with Australia, Denmark, and Peru.
Dimitri Payet and Kingsley Coman also failed to make the cut for the tournament.
France World Cup Squad:
Goalkeepers:
- Alphonse Areola (PSG)
- Hugo Lloris (Tottenham)
- Steve Mandanda (Marseille)
Defenders:
- Lucas Hernandez (Atletico Madrid)
- Presnel Kimpembe (PSG)
- Benjamin Mendy (Manchester City)
- Benjamin Pavard (Stuttgart)
- Adil Rami (Marseille)
- Djibril Sidibe (Monaco)
- Samuel Umtiti (Barcelona)
- Raphael Varane (Real Madrid)
Midfielders:
- N’Golo Kante (Chelsea)
- Blaise Matuidi (Juventus)
- Steven N’Zonzi (Sevilla)
- Paul Pogba (Manchester United)
- Corentin Tolisso (Bayern Munich)
Forwards:
- Ousmane Dembele (Barcelona)
- Nabil Fekir (Lyon)
- Olivier Giroud (Chelsea)
- Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid)
- Thomas Lemar (Monaco)
- Kylian Mbappe (PSG)
- Florian Thauvin (Marseille).
Full soccer world cup 2018 Fixtures HERE
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