Didier Deschamps has revealed the list of 24 players for the play-off match against Ukraine as part of the Brazil 2014 World Cup. The first leg will take place on November 15 in Ukraine, and the return match on November 19 in France.
Rio Mavuba expressed his joy, stating, “I am happy and proud at the same time. It is with great pleasure that I find the Blues again, for, in addition, two very important matches, the most important of the Didier Deschamps era, I believe.”
Mavuba also addressed the case of Patrice Evra, who will be part of the match after his controversial statements to “Téléfoot” fans. “They know each other well with the coach; they must have had, I think, a discussion. Now we really need to move on, to really think about qualifying. (…) Evra is one of the players who has experience… and obviously we need experienced players.”
The debate is open about whether this is the best group to face Ukraine. The list of the Blues includes:
GOALKEEPERS: Mickaël Landreau (Bastia), Hugo Lloris (Tottenham/ENG), Steve Mandanda (Marseille).
DEFENDERS: Eric Abidal (Monaco), Gaël Clichy (Manchester City/ANG), Mathieu Debuchy (Newcastle/ANG), Patrice Evra (Manchester United/ANG), Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal/ANG), Bacary Sagna (Arsenal/ANG), Mamadou Sakho (Liverpool/ENG), Raphaël Varane (Real/ESP).
MIDFIELD: Blaise Matuidi (PSG), Paul Pogba (Juventus/ITA), Moussa Sissoko (Newcastle/ANG), Clément Grenier (Lyon), Samir Nasri (Manchester City/ENG), Yohan Cabaye (Newcastle/ANG), Rio Mavuba (Lille).
FORWARDS: Karim Benzema (Real Madrid/ESP), Olivier Giroud (Arsenal/ANG), Dimitri Payet (Marseille), Franck Ribéry (Bayern Munich/ALL), Mathieu Valbuena (Marseille), Loïc Rémy (Newcastle/ENG).
