France announce 23-man squad for 2014 FIFA World Cup; Samir Nasri left out

France have announced their squad for the FIFA 2014 World Cup.

France’s 23-man squad has finally been revealed by their manager Didier Deschamps with 7 players on the standby list.

His squad includes eight players under the age of 25, and there are a couple of shock omissions as both Manchester City playmaker Samir Nasri (41 caps) and Monaco captain Eric Abidal (67 caps) have been left out.

When asked about the exclusion of Nasri, Deschamps said, “Whether it was Samir or not, any player who comes out publicly will not change my mind either way. My conviction is the most important in helping me make my decision.”

“All the decisions were difficult, even harder with Abidal. He was not in top form,” he added.

A list of 7 standby players has also been disclosed by the French boss.

France have been drawn against Switzerland, Ecuador and Honduras in Group E. The French will face Honduras on June 15 as they kick off their campaign in Brazil.

Goalkeepers: Mickaël Landreau (Bastia), Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur), Steve Mandanda (Marseille).

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), Raphaël Varane (Real Madrid).

Midfielders: Yohan Cabaye (Paris Saint-Germain), Clément Grenier (Lyon), Blaise Matuidi (Paris Saint-Germain), Rio Mavuba (Lille), Paul Pogba (Juventus), Moussa Sissoko (Newcastle United), Mathieu Valbuena (Marseille).

Forwards: Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), Olivier Giroud (Arsenal), Antoine Griezmann (Real Sociedad), Loïc Rémy (Newcastle United), Franck Ribéry (Bayern Munich).

Standbys: Rémy Cabella (Montpellier), Maxime Gonalons (Lyon), Alexandre Lacazette (Olympique Lyonnais), Loïc Perrin (Saint-Étienne), Stéphane Ruffier (Saint-Étienne), Morgan Schneiderlin (Southampton), Benedict Tremoulinas (Dynamo Kyiv).

EDIT: Marseille goalkeeper, Steve Mandanda, withdrew due to a neck injury and was replaced by Saint-Etienne’s Stephane Ruffier.

Manchester City midfielder Samir Nasri has not been included in the France squad for this summer’s World Cup. http://t.co/8s1K9znwSi

— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) May 13, 2014