Deschamps names provisional France squad
Didier Deschamps names 23 players for France's provisional World Cup squad
Florian Thauvin, Nabil Fekir and Steven Nzonzi are selected
Final 23-man squad lists will be published by FIFA on 4 June
France head coach Didier Deschamps has named a 23-man provisional squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™, with a few players with little international experience making the cut after successful seasons with their clubs.
The notable inclusions are Steven Nzonzi (two caps), Florian Thauvin (three caps) and Nabil Fekir (ten caps), who all put in impressive displays this season for Sevilla, Marseille and Lyon, respectively.
The most notable omissions were Anthony Martial, Alexandre Lacazette, Kingsley Coman and Adrien Rabiot, who form part of a 11-player reserve list.
France will prepare for Russia 2018 with three warm-up games against Republic of Ireland on 28 May in Paris, Italy on 1 June in Nice and USA on 9 June in Lyon.
France's match schedule at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
France provisional squad
Goalkeepers: Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur/England), Steve Mandanda (Marseille), Alphonse Areola (Paris Saint-Germain);
Defenders: Djibril Sidibe (Monaco), Benjamin Pavard (Stuttgart/Germany), Samuel Umtiti (Barcelona/Spain), Raphael Varane (Real Madrid/Spain), Presnel Kimpembe (Paris Saint-Germain), Adil Rami (Marseille), Benjamin Mendy (Manchester City/England), Lucas Hernandez (Atletico Madrid/Spain);
Midfielders: Paul Pogba (Manchester United/England), Corentin Tolisso (Bayern Munich/Germany), Blaise Matuidi (Juventus/Italy), Ngolo Kante (Chelsea/England), Steven Nzonzi (Sevilla/Spain);
Forwards: Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid/Spain), Olivier Giroud (Chelsea/England), Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain), Ousmane Dembele (Barcelona/Spain), Florian Thauvin (Marseille), Nabil Fekir (Lyon), Thomas Lemar (Monaco);
On standby: Wissam Ben Yedder (Sevilla/Spain), Kingsley Coman (Bayern Munich/Germany), Benoit Costil (Bordeaux), Mathieu Debuchy (Saint-Etienne), Lucas Digne (Barcelona/Spain), Alexandre Lacazette (Arsenal/England), Anthony Martial (Manchester United/England), Adrien Rabiot (Paris Saint-Germain), Mamadou Sakho (Crystal Palace/England), Moussa Sissoko (Tottenham Hotspur/England), Kurt Zouma (Chelsea/England).