Deschamps mes France squad for Euro
Paris, May 13: France coach Didier Deschamps has announced his 23-man selection for the upcoming 2016 European soccer championship on home soil with 10 players from the English Premier League, but Hatem Ben Arfa has been given a miss.
The in-form forward, who has enjoyed a very successful season so far with 17 goals for Ligue 1 members Nice, was med on Thursday among the eight reserves who will join the Euro 2016 squad if only a player pulled out injured, reports Xinhua.
Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba heads up France’s squad for the June 10-July 10 tourment, while Arsel striker Olivier Giroud, Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann and Manchester United’s Anthony Martial are also included. The France boss had previously revealed that Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema would not go to Euro 2016 after he was charged with complicity in an attempt to blackmail and participating in a crimil conspiracy as part of an investigation into a sex-tape plot involving intertiol teammate Mathieu Valbue, who was also left out of the squad announced on Thursday. France, who won the 1998 World Cup on home soil and the European Championship two years later with Deschamps as their captain, will play Romania, Albania and Switzerland in Group A.
The squad:
Goalkeepers: Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur), Steve Mandanda (Marseille), Benoit Costil (Rennes)
Defenders: Raphael Varane (Real Madrid), Laurent Koscielny (Arsel), Eliaquim Mangala (Manchester City), Jeremy Mathieu (Barcelo), Patrice Evra (Juventus), Bacary Sag (Manchester City), Lucas Digne (AS Roma), Christophe Jallet (Lyon)
Midfielders: Paul Pogba (Juventus), Blaise Matuidi (Paris Saint-Germain), Lassa Diarra (Marseille), N’ Golo Kante (Leicester City), Yohan Cabaye (Crystal Palace), Moussa Sissoko (Newcastle United)
Forwards: Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid), Dimitri Payet (West Ham United), Anthony Martial (Manchester United), Kingsley Coman (Bayern Munich), Olivier Giroud (Arsel), Andre-Pierre Gigc (UANL Tigres)
Reserves: Alphonse Areola (Villarreal), Hatem Ben Arfa (Nice), Kevin Gameiro (Sevilla), Alexandre Lacazette (Lyon), Adrien Rabiot (Paris St Germain), Morgan Schneiderlin (Manchester United), Djibril Sidibe (Lille), Samuel Umtiti (Lyon). IANS
