Key absentees have given a number of young stars
a chance in the France squad (¿Getty Images)
The absence of six key players for Saturday's Group B game
in Lithuania has given France a chance to call up a raft of exciting young
prospects.
Absent stars
The loss of the quality of Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira, Franck Ribery,
Louis Saha, Mikael Silvestre and David Trezeguet would be a catastrophe
for most European sides, but France coach Raymond Domenech is taking the
opportunity to cast his net wider.
Young hopefuls
Into his squad for the weekend qualifier - and Wednesday's friendly against
Austria - come Olympique de Marseille's 19-year-old Samir Nasri, Chelsea
FC's 22-year-old Lassana Diarra, Arsenal FC's 20-year-old Abou Diaby and
Olympique Lyonnais' 19-year-old Karim Benzema. "Being selected was
the last thing I expected," said Diaby. "First I felt euphoria,
followed by a little bit of apprehension, but I have been welcomed into
the fold. It's a great thing just to talk with players like Lilian Thuram
or Claude Makelele." Diarra added: "I'm ready to play of course,
but just being here is awesome."
Late bloomer
Domenech's untried talents are not solely youngsters. At 28, AS Monaco
FC's on-loan forward Frederic Piquionne had all but given up hope of international
recognition - until he saw the squad. "I never even got a provisional
call-up or youth cap," he said. "I was in a cold sweat when
I saw my name on the list on television, then the phone started ringing."
Whether Piquionne gets to play against Lithuania is a big question. Nicolas
Anelka is the favourite to start in place of Henry and Trezeguet, and
Benzema may partner him. "I'm sure I can play and I'm prepared for
that," said the teenager.
'They are good enough'
Nasri could also get the nod. A natural No10, he has been touted as the
new Zinedine Zidane - like 'Zizou' he hails from the Marseille suburbs.
However, he is wary of treading the French hero's footsteps. "Zidane
suffered from being compared to Michel Platini," he said. "I
don't want that pressure. Zidane is Zidane. I am Samir Nasri." Not
a name familiar around the world, yet Domenech insists he knows what to
do with all his new arrivals against Lithuania. "I roughly know who
will start," he said. "We can only put 18 names on the team-sheet
but if I selected them, it's because they are good enough and have a lot
to offer." The chance to prove that comes in Kaunas.
,
23 March 2007.
Russian ladies dream about happy marriage.
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¿ Russian National Football Team - RussiaTeam.com
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