France name squad for 2018 Russia World Cup

Sports Desk: France was always going to snub a cast of stars for the World Cup considering the depth in the national team program, and the inevitable was realized Thursday.

Manager Didier Deschamps unveiled his 23-man roster for Russia 2018, omitting the likes of Anthony Martial and Alexandre Lacazette in making his final cuts.

The two Premier League forwards were passed over for the likes of Marseille's Florian Thauvin and Lyon's Nabil Fekir, while talents like Kingsley Coman, Adrien Rabiot, Dimitri Payet and Wissam Ben Yedder were also left behind. Payet limped off in Marseille's Europa League final loss to Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, and it's possible that altered his place on Deschamps's team. France has until the June 4 roster deadline to make any substitutions in the event of an injury.

France features a top-heavy squad that includes Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele and a midfield stocked with the likes of N'Golo Kante and Paul Pogba.

Tottenham's Hugo Lloris is expected to start in goal in front of a back line that features La Liga standouts Samuel Umtiti, Raphael Varane and Lucas Hernandez. Man City left back Benjamin Mendy recovered in time from a long-term knee injury to make the squad, but club teammate Aymeric Laporte was among the talented players who will not be making the trip to Russia.

France will play in Group C along with Australia, Peru and Denmark.

Here is France's roster in full:
Goalkeeper: 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).

Agencies


risingbd/Dhaka/May 18, 2018/Nasim