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Didier Deschamps has become the latest manager to announce the World Cup squad. France is expected to be a strong contender in the competition. With the best forwards such as Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele leading the team, it is expected that France will advance far.
Senior defender, Laurent Koscielny, was poised to play his last World Cup for France before his retirement. However, a serious Achilles injury which he suffered while playing against Atletico Madrid has ruled him out of the World Cup. That dashed his hopes of playing for his nation.
On that note, here are five other notable absentees from the squad despite being fit. They have been named on standby, but it looks hard for them to replace anyone from the 23-man squad unless a player suffers an injury.
#5 Mamadou Sakho (Crystal Palace)
The senior defender is another player missing out from the 23-man squad after Deschamps opted to pick a few relatively young defenders. The former Paris Saint-Germain centre-back gained attention when he made his debut for the Ligue 1 club. After spending six years with the club, he moved to play in English Premier League.
Under Roy Hodgson's guidance this season, Sakho has formed one of the best partnerships in Premier League with James Tomkins. After playing 12 matches together, the duo saw their team win nine matches, draw three and concede just eight goals. Despite living up to his standards, Sakho was named in the standby list.
It is a real pity for the defender to miss the World Cup even though he had a great season. Previously, the defender was involved in a drug scandal which cost him the chance to play for France in Euro 2016. Sakho was confirmed to have done nothing wrong but the chance was gone. Once again, the player looks set to miss another competition with other defenders preferred. Sakho had played in the last edition of the World Cup held in Brazil and was a regular starter for his side. Deschamps probably felt that it will be more beneficial to bring some capable young defenders to the world competition and leave Sakho out of the team.
#4 Moussa Sissoko (Tottenham)
Despite having mediocre performances in Tottenham's matches, Sissoko has time and again been called up by Deschamps. Les Blues fans have started to question his presence in the squad and at last, Deschamps has dropped him.
After 33 games in Premier League, the player has managed just a single goal and assist for his club. That is far short of all the expectations on him. It is expected that he will be missing out on the World Cup following a disappointing season for him.
Far too many midfielders such as N'Golo Kante, Paul Pogba, and Steven N'Zonzi have justified their places in the World Cup. Sissoko might have just missed the chance to play in his last World Cup.
The midfielder is one of the more experienced players that France has. With 53 appearances since his debut in 2009, not many others in the squad can match his vast experience. Deschamps had praised Sissoko for being hardworking, likening him to that of a soldier. He was given a miss in the international friendlies earlier this year and in February, just 54% of French supporters would pick Sissoko for the 23-man squad to Russia. The player has definitely lost his position to N'Golo Kante because the Chelsea midfielder has played with much more consistency and delivered better performances.
#3 Kurt Zouma (Stoke City on loan from Chelsea)
Zouma first represented France in 2015. Back then, Deschamps was keen to build a partnership between him and Raphael Varane. The Real Madrid defender has been included in the squad but not Zouma.
The defender is well thought of by many other players. Danny Murphy predicted that Zouma would be an ideal replacement for former Chelsea captain, John Terry, and become an integral player of the team. However, after four years at Chelsea, the player has only made 47 appearances and has had two loan spells.
With the bar set up high, it will be difficult for Zouma to replace the more favored players such as Samuel Umtiti and Adil Rami. Umtiti is currently regarded as one of the best defenders in the world. It will be difficult for Deschamps not to include the Barcelona man. At the same time, Deschamps had also made the decision to select younger defenders such as Benjamin Pavard and Lucas Hernandez. Unfortunately, Zouma did not make the cut.
After appearing in 2015, Zouma has not played for France since then. He was called up in 2017 after Varane had to pull out due to injury. Given that Varane is fit to play for France this summer, it looks unlikely that there will be room to accommodate Zouma.
#2 Anthony Martial (Manchester United)
Martial is a surprise miss from the 23-man squad. The French international had been dropped many times by Jose Mourinho and the player looks keen to get a move away from Old Trafford this summer. The main reason for not selecting him was probably because of his lack of goals. The striker has not scored since January 2018 and Deschamps certainly will not want to have a player with low goalscoring confidence.
A recent knee injury has kept Martial out of the final Premier League match against Watford. With Alexis Sanchez joining him at Manchester United in January, Martial has struggled to make an impact or even have a chance to play for the club.
Martial was dubbed as a hot and rising prospect when he first joined the Red Devils. However, after his standards slipped, his value has decreased over time. The French man is just 22 years old this year and definitely stands a chance to participate in at least another World Cup. The only Premier League forward who has been called up is Olivier Giroud.
The 31 -year-old striker has made over 70 appearances for France and is considered one of the most experienced in the squad. Giroud showed his knack for showing headers, linking up play outside the box and established that he can be an effective substitute for his team. As such, Giroud is very much indeed the man that Deschamps would need. Given his formidable partnership with Griezmann over the years, it will be hard to get any other Premier League striker to work just as well as Giroud.
Chances for Martial will probably come in the next World Cup when he gains more experience and is able to play on a more regular basis. When he was playing for the youth team, Martial has had little difficulties finding the net. After being introduced to the senior squad, he has only scored once in 18 games. This is probably another point why Deschamps has chosen other forwards.
#1 Alexandre Lacazette (Arsenal)
After making a return from his knee surgery, Lacazette has been in a great goalscoring form. In 10 games, he scored eight times and had one assist to his name. The £50 million striker, who joined Arsenal in the summer, was finally justifying his price tag.
However, luck was perhaps not on his side. Deschamps had decided to give him a miss and picked former Arsenal team-mate Olivier Giroud instead. When Lacazette first joined, it was thought that he would threaten Giroud's World Cup spot because the latter was not enjoying sufficient game time. Deschamps continued to put trust in Giroud's experience and therefore the Chelsea man was selected.
Previously when Lacazette was on the team, he netted a brace while playing against Germany in a friendly match in 2017. He made his debut at the age of 22 when Deschamps was already the coach and had scored three goals in 16 appearances. Perhaps his overall slow start to Premier League had cost him a spot in the squad as the French manager included less experienced Florian Thauvin.
The 25-year-old forward had just three senior international appearances before the call-up. However, the striker had a blistering start to his Ligue 1 campaign for Marseille after leaving Newcastle United on a permanent deal. It will surely be a great upset for Lacazette as he had worked hard for a spot after returning from injury.
