Martial, Lacazette fail to make France World Cup squad
Manchester United forward Anthony Martial and Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette have failed to make the France squad for this summer’s World Cup.
Martial has won 18 caps and started Les Bleus’ 3-1 friendly victory over Russia in March, while Lacazette won the last of his 16 caps in a 2-2 friendly draw with Germany in November.
Both players are on Didier Deschamps’s standby list for Russia alongside the likes of Mamadou Sakho, Moussa Sissoko and Kurt Zouma.
Manchester City full-back Benjamin Mendy is one of five Premier League players included, having only returned to action in April after nearly seven months out with a knee injury.
Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante and striker Olivier Giroud, Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba and Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Hugo Lloris are the other England-based players in the 23-man squad.
Former Blackburn Rovers and Stoke City midfielder Steven N’Zonzi is included, while former Newcastle United forward Florian Thauvin and ex-Crystal Palace goalkeeper Steve Mandanda, who are both now at Marseille, also make the cut.
Laurent Koscielny and Dimitri Payet are absent due to injury, while other high-profile omissions include Adrien Rabiot and Kingsley Coman.
France open their World Cup campaign against Australia on June 16 before facing Peru and Denmark in their remaining Group C fixtures.
Full squad:
Goalkeepers: Alphonse Areola (Paris Saint-Germain), Hugo Lloris (Tottenham), Steve Mandanda (Marseille)
Defenders: Lucas Hernandez (Atletico Madrid), Presnel Kimpembe (PSG), Benjamin Mendy (Manchester City), Benjamin Pavard (Stuttgart), Adil Rami (Marseille), Djibril Sidibe (Monaco), Samuel Umtiti (Barcelona), Raphael Varane (Real Madrid)
Midfielders: N’Golo Kante (Chelsea), Blaise Matuidi (Juventus), Steven N’Zonzi (Sevilla) Paul Pogba (Manchester United), Corentin Tolisso (Bayern Munich)
Forwards: Ousmane Dembele (Barcelona), Nabil Fekir (Lyon), Olivier Giroud (Chelsea), Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid), Thomas Lemar (Monaco), Kylian Mbappe (PSG), Florian Thauvin (Marseille)
Reserves: Wissam Ben Yedder (Sevilla), Kingsley Coman (Bayern Munich) Benoit Costil (Bordeaux), Mathieu Debuchy (Saint-Etienne), Lucas Digne (Barcelona), Alexandre Lacazette (Arsenal), Anthony Martial (Manchester United), Adrien Rabiot (PSG), Mamadou Sakho (Crystal Palace), Moussa Sissoko (Tottenham Hotspur), Kurt Zouma (Chelsea)
