Didier Deschamps Announces the French National Team’s Latest Squad

DBasia.news –  The French national team will play Moldova and Iceland at the upcoming international break. Uniquely, in the names Didier Deschamps had included, coach of the French national team, there was no Alexandre Lacazette, Arsenal striker.

In fact, Lacazette has scored 14 goals in all competitions with Arsenal this season and formed a deadly duet with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Lastly, Lacazette was called into the French squad in November 2017.

Besides Lacazette, Wissam Ben Yedder (Sevilla) and Aymeric Laporte (Manchester City) were also not called by Deschamps.

The coach who brought France to the 2018 World Cup champion has his reasons, choosing Olivier Giroud, who has never been a starter in the Premier League with Chelsea since December 2018, rather than Lacazette and Wissam Ben Yedder.

“I think they (Lacazette and Ben Yedder) will not be thrilled today. They did a lot of good things, but I have to make a decision,” Deschamps stressed.

“They both have the same playing style compared to Giroud. Giroud is rarely used in the Premier League, but what he does for us (important).”

“We think. This is not only a question of age (Giroud and Blaise Matuidi), for them this is not a wildcard, they have experience that brings them into the squad. Now, everything depends on them to maintain physicality,” Deschamps explained.

The match against Moldova (23/3) and Iceland (26/3) is not a friendly match at the upcoming international break, however it is the European Cup 2020 Qualification. Four years ago, France became runners-up under Portugal who won the European Cup 2016.

The followings are players Deschamps called into the French national squad:

Goalkeeper: Alphonse Areola (PSG), Hugo Lloris (Tottenham), Steve Mandanda (Marseille)

Defender: Lucas Digne (Everton), Presnel Kimpembe (PSG), Layvin Kurzawa (PSG), Benjamin Pavard (Stuttgart), Djibril Sidibe (Monaco), Raphael Varane (Real Madrid), Samuel Umtiti (Barcelona), Kurt Zouma (Everton)

Midfielder: N’Golo Kante (Chelsea), Blaise Matuidi (Juventus), Tanguy N’Dombele (Lyon), Paul Pogba (Manchester United), Moussa Sissoko (Tottenham)

Striker: Kingsley Coman (Bayern Munchen), Nabil Fekir (Lyon), Olivier Giroud (Chelsea), Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid), Anthony Martial (Manchester United), Kylian Mbappe (PSG), Florian Thauvin (Marseille)