FIFA World Cup 2010 Preview: France Squad announced, Nasri misses out

In a surprising turn of events, three key players – Samir Nasri (Arsenal), Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) and Patrick Veira(Manchester City) were left out of the French national squad selected by Raymond Domenech. Domenech has been under fire after France had a dismal show in the qualifiers and doing no good by announcing the squad on a chat show and not in a press conference.

Thierry Henry makes the cut inspite of a mediocre season at Barca.

Critics have found it difficult to justify his grounds of selection. Thierry Henry who spent most of the last season with Barcelona on the bench was selected whereas young protégé Karim Benzema was not. Benzema who was bought by Real Madrid last season as a part of their plan to build the Galacticos II is disappointed at being left out of the biggest show on Earth.

Even more surprising has been the omission of Arsenal star midfielder Samir Nasri, touted by many as having the skill and grace of Zinedine Zidane, he has had a great season with Arsenal. Arsenal Manager: Arsene Wenger has strongly retaliated against the omission of his star player.

Bacary Sagna, Arsenal Teammate of Nasri was quoted saying: “It’s great to see so many Arsenal players but the news of Nasri (missing out) has put things in perspective. In these moments there is little one can say. I have not yet called him but no words can soothe him. He misses a World Cup.”

France had won the 1998 World Cup by beating Brazil in the final by a margin of three goals. None of the players of the final XI of that team find a place in this squad as Patrick Veira, former france captain, was also excluded. However, his omission is understandable. Veira is currently playing for Manchester City, seemingly for the moolah and has shown poor performance in the last half of the season.

Zidane and Nasri: Nasri missed out on a Worl Cup berth

France have qualified for the World Cup by beating Ireland in the qualifiers. The goal that separated both the teams was scored by William Gallas and “created” by Thierry Henry, both of them find a place in the team. It remains to be seen how they perform at the World Cup but critics have put them out of the reckoning. Being in one of the easiest groups, they are supposed to get through the group stages.

France squad:

Goalkeepers: Hugo Lloris (Olympique Lyon), Steve Mandanda(Olympique Marseille), Cedric Carrasso (Girondins Bordeaux), Mickael Landreau (Lille)

Defenders: Bacary Sagna (Arsenal), Patrice Evra (Manchester United), William Gallas (Arsenal), Eric Abidal (Barcelona), Rod Fanni (Stade Rennes), Sebastien Squillaci (Sevilla), Adil Rami (Lille), Marc Planus (Girondins Bordeaux), Gael Clichy(Arsenal), Anthony Reveillere (Olympique Lyon)

Raymond Domenech: Manager France

Midfielders: Lassana Diarra (Real Madrid), Alou Diarra(Girondins Bordeaux), Jeremy Toulalan (Olympique Lyon), Florent Malouda (Chelsea), Yoann Gourcuff (Girondins Bordeaux), Abou Diaby (Arsenal), Yann M’Vila (Stade Rennes)

Forwards: Thierry Henry (Barcelona), Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea), Andre-Pierre Gignac (Toulouse), Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich), Sidney Govou (Olympique Lyon), Djibril Cisse (Panathinaikos), Hatem Ben Arfa (Olympique Marseille), Mathieu Valbuena (Olympique Marseille), Jimmy Briand (Stade Rennes)