On Thursday night, Didier Deschamps named his final 25-man squad for this summer’s European Championships and it’s safe to say there were some surprising inclusions and omissions.
Les Bleus are the favourites to triumph in Germany, with arguably the best player in the world right now Kylian Mbappe leading the line and set to captain his country at a major finals for the first time.
The PSG forward was key when France won the 2018 World Cup, as was Kante but the midfielder has not played for his national team since the summer of 2022, missing that year’s World Cup in Qatar through injury.
So his recall has caught many out, especially since the 33-year-old now plies his trade in the Saudi Pro League, far, far away from the Europe’s elite competitions.
His inclusion can be attributed to a lack of options in defensive midfield, which has worsened thanks to Aston Villa star’s Boubacar Kamara’s long-term knee injury.
But while Kante has made the cut, no current Chelsea stars have been called-up, with Malo Gusto, Axel Disasi and Christopher Nkunku snubbed.
Given Disasi’s somewhat underwhelming form and Nkunku’s injury issues that have caused him to miss nearly the entire season, these exclusions can be justified.
But Gusto has been one of the Premier League’s best right-back’s this season and if not for Cole Palmer would likely have been named Chelsea’s player of the year.
Moreover Deschamps has controversially – though not unexpectedly – picked just one natural right-back in the form of Jonathan Clauss, as well as Jules Kounde, a natural centre-back who occasionally plays on the right for Barcelona.
He has also named just 25 players when he has the option to have 26,
Over notable players snubbed from the squad include Mo Simakan, Jean Clair Todibo, Matteo Guendouzi and Moussa Diaby, as well as Crystal Palace duo Jean-Philippe Mateta and Michael Olise who have been in sensational form.
Only three Premier League players are in the squad, namely West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola, Arsenal defender William Saliba and Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate.
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