France coach Didier Deschamps has submitted his 23-man squad for the 2014 World Cup.
There was much late concern over the fitness of Frank Ribery regarding an on-going back injury he’s been struggling with even before France’s last round of friendlies.
The Bayern Munich ace was restricted to just 18 league starts for the Bundesliga champions last season and the injury has seen the 31-year-old miss both of Les Bleus’ two friendly games against Norway and Paraguay.
Despite this, Deschamps has opted to take Uefa’s European Player of the Year regardless of doubts over his participation during the tournament in Brazil.
The risk is even more resounding given the surprising snub of Samir Nasri earlier in May when Deschamps announced his 30-man squad.
Here are the final 23 players:
Keepers: Hugo Lloris (Tottenham), Stephane Ruffier (Saint-Etienne), Mickael Landreau (Bastia)
Defenders: Mathieu Debuchy (Newcastle United), Lucas Digne (Paris Saint-Germain) Patrice Evra (Manchester United), Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal), Eliaquim Mangala (Porto), Bacary Sagna (Arsenal), Mamadou Sakho (Liverpool), Raphael Varane (Real Madrid)
Midfielders: Yohan Cabaye (Paris Saint-Germain), Clement Grenier (Lyon), Blaise Matuidi (Paris Saint-Germain), Rio Mavuba (Lille), Paul Pogba (Juventus), Moussa Sissoko (Newcastle), Mathieu Valbuena (Marseille)
Strikers: Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), Olivier Giroud (Arsenal), Antoine Griezmann (Real Sociedad), Loic Remy (Newcastle), Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich)
