Didier Deschamps has unveiled a list of 24 players for the match against Ukraine in the Brazil 2014 World Cup play-offs. The first leg is scheduled for November 15 in Ukraine, with the return match on November 19 in France. Deschamps expressed the clear objective of securing a World Cup ticket and acknowledged the quality of the Ukrainian team.
Deschamps defended his selection, stating, “The original 23 names are there today, plus Rio Mavuba. Afterwards, on the starting eleven, there are always questions about one, two, or three positions maximum. I know what I want to do but there are still matches.”
He dismissed concerns about his resignation if the French team fails to pass the play-offs, emphasizing his focus on achieving the goal. The debate over whether this is the best group to face Ukraine remains open.
Here is the list of the French squad:
Goalkeepers:
- Mickaël Landreau (Bastia)
- Hugo Lloris (Tottenham/ENG)
- Steve Mandanda (Marseille)
Defenders:
- Eric Abidal (Monaco)
- Gaël Clichy (Manchester City/ENG)
- Mathieu Debuchy (Newcastle/ENG)
- Patrice Evra (Manchester United/ENG)
- Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal/ENG)
- Bacary Sagna (Arsenal/ENG)
- Mamadou Sakho (Liverpool/ENG)
- Raphaël Varane (Real Madrid/ESP)
Midfield:
- Blaise Matuidi (PSG)
- Paul Pogba (Juventus/ITA)
- Moussa Sissoko (Newcastle/ENG)
- Clément Grenier (Lyon)
- Samir Nasri (Manchester City/ENG)
- Yohan Cabaye (Newcastle/ENG)
- Rio Mavuba (Lille)
Forwards:
- Karim Benzema (Real Madrid/ESP)
- Olivier Giroud (Arsenal/ENG)
- Dimitri Payet (Marseille)
- Franck Ribéry (Bayern Munich/GER)
- Mathieu Valbuena (Marseille)
- Loïc Rémy (Newcastle/ENG)
