PARIS (AP) — France coach Didier Deschamps stayed faithful to Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier for friendlies in the United States next week even though he hasn’t played since the end of January.
Chevalier lost his starting spot to Matvey Safonov but was included on Thursday in Deschamps’ 26-man squad.
France plays Brazil on March 26 in Foxborough and Colombia on March 29 in Landover.
Deschamps said Chevalier’s situation was not “ideal” and that he picked him as a third-choice goalkeeper alongside Mike Maignan and Brice Samba because he believes he has not lost his value.
“As far as Lucas is concerned his last match dates back to Jan. 26 if I’m not mistaken,” Deschamps said. “Since then, he has been in a more difficult situation, without playing time. This has often happened to me with important players; it mostly involved outfield players who could be temporarily struggling at their clubs. Reaching out is also part of building a relationship of trust.”
Up front, Deschamps included Randal Kolo Muani in his reservoir of attacking players following the withdrawal of Bradley Barcola, who sprained his right ankle with PSG in the Champions League. Kolo Muani is on a season-long loan deal at Tottenham and scored the opening goal midweek in a 3-2 win over Atletico. Deschamps selected nine forwards in his group.
The coach added many of the players called up have good chances to be part of the group that will compete at the World Cup in the U.S., Mexico and Canada in June.
“Many of those who are here today will still be there,” Deschamps said. “It’s still too early to draw any hasty conclusions, but we’ll stick to this approach, knowing from experience that a lot can happen over the next two months. I just hope it won’t be anything negative, especially when it comes to players’ injuries.”
France:
Goalkeepers: Lucas Chevalier (PSG), Mike Maignan (AC Milan), Brice Samba (Rennes)
Defenders: Lucas Digne (Aston Villa), Malo Gusto (Chelsea), Lucas Hernandez (PSG), Théo Hernandez (Al-Hilal), Pierre Kalulu (Juventus), Ibrahima Konaté (Liverpool), William Saliba (Arsenal), Dayot Upamecano (Bayern)
Midfielders: Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid), N’Golo Kanté (Fenerbahce), Manu Koné (Roma), Adrien Rabiot (AC Milan), Aurélien Tchouaméni (Real Madrid), Warren Zaire-Emery (PSG).
Forwards: Maghnes Akliouche (Monaco), Ryan Cherki (Manchester City), Ousmane Dembélé (PSG), Désiré Doué (PSG), Hugo Ekitiké (Liverpool), Randal Kolo Muani (Tottenham) Kylian Mbappé (PSG), Michael Olise (Bayern Munich), Marcus Thuram (Inter Milan).
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