Didier Deschamps has announced his final squad for the upcoming international match. The national coach of the French team has selected two debutants with Christopher Nkunku and Jonathan Clauss. The much-discussed Ousmane Dembélé and Kurt Zouma are not part of the 23-man selection, just like Olivier Giroud. France will play two friendly matches against Ivory Coast and South Africa at the end of March.
Zouma was already expected that he would not be part of the selection. The West Ham United defender was discredited after images surfaced showing him mistreating his cat and kicking his million-dollar villa. Deschamps condemned Zouma’s actions. “It is intolerable, unbearable and cruel. The images are shocking and unbearable,” said the French national coach recently in conversation with France 3† Zouma is not an undisputed base force in the French national team. He has appeared 11 times so far for Les Bleus †
† OFICIAL I Convocatoria del @equipedfrance para los amistosos de marzo ???? Deschamps ha convocado a 3 jugadores de @LaLiga† @realmadrid† @Benzema† @Athletic† @AntoGriezmann † @SevilleFC: Koude (@jkeey4† No están convocados Dembele y Fekir ?? #PartidazoCOPE pic.twitter.com/Fd5XiAUSFn
— El Partidazo de COPE (@partidazocope) March 17, 2022
Dembélé is also not part of the French team. The Barcelona attacker made headlines last winter when he refused to renew his contract with the Catalan superpower. Xavi nevertheless decided to include him in the selection. Olivier Giroud is also not part of the Deschamps judging corps. “He is doing well at the moment and I am very happy with that. He is scoring important goals at AC Milan. But I have choices to make. I know what Olivier can do for us. He remains in the picture with the national team, even if I haven’t selected him now.”
Nkunku is part of the final selection. The attacking midfielder of RB Leipzig is among them for the first time. Nkunku has 15 goals and 9 assists in the Bundesliga this season. In addition, he was accurate three times in the cup tournament and seven times in the Champions League. This makes him the fourth top scorer in Europe. Clauss can also hope for his debut in the shirt of the French team. The defender annex midfielder of RC Lens benefits from the poor form at Léo Dubois, which Deschamps neglected. Clauss has so far scored 4 goals and 9 assists in Ligue 1 this season.
The full selection:
Goalkeepers: Alphonse Areola (West Ham United), Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur), Mike Maignan (AC Milan)
Defenders: Jonathan Clauss (RC Lens), Lucas Digne (Aston Villa), Lucas Hernandez (Bayern Munich), Theo Hernández (AC Milan), Presnel Kimpembe (Paris Saint-Germain), Jules Koundé (Seville), Benjamin Pavard (Bayern Munich), Raphael Varane (Manchester United)
Midfielders: Matteo Guendouzi (Olympique Marseille), N’Golo Kante (Chelsea), Paul Pogba (Manchester United), Adrien Rabiot (Juventus), Aurélien Tchouameni (AS Monaco)
Attackers: Wissam Ben Yedder (AS Monaco), Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), Kingsley Coman (Bayern Munich), Moussa Diaby (Bayer Leverkusen), Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid), Kylian Mbappé (PSG), Christopher Nkunku (RB Leipzig)