PARIS (AP) 鈥� France coach 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 鈥渋deal鈥� 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.
鈥淎s far as Lucas is concerned his last match dates back to Jan. 26 if I鈥檓 not mistaken,鈥� Deschamps said. 鈥淪ince 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.鈥�
Up front, Deschamps included Randal Kolo Muani in his reservoir of attacking players following the withdrawal of , who sprained his right ankle with PSG in the . 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.
鈥淢any of those who are here today will still be there,鈥� Deschamps said. “It鈥檚 still too early to draw any hasty conclusions, but we鈥檒l stick to this approach, knowing from experience that a lot can happen over the next two months. I just hope it won鈥檛 be anything negative, especially when it comes to players’ injuries.鈥�
France:
Goalkeepers: Lucas Chevalier (PSG), Mike Maignan (AC Milan), Brice Samba (Rennes)
Defenders: Lucas Digne (Aston Villa), Malo Gusto (Chelsea), Lucas Hernandez (PSG), Th茅o Hernandez (Al-Hilal), Pierre Kalulu (Juventus), Ibrahima Konat茅 (Liverpool), William Saliba (Arsenal), Dayot Upamecano (Bayern)
Midfielders: Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid), N鈥橤olo Kant茅 (Fenerbahce), Manu Kon茅 (Roma), Adrien Rabiot (AC Milan), Aur茅lien Tchouam茅ni (Real Madrid), Warren Zaire-Emery (PSG).
Forwards: Maghnes Akliouche (Monaco), Ryan Cherki (Manchester City), Ousmane Demb茅l茅 (PSG), D茅sir茅 Dou茅 (PSG), Hugo Ekitik茅 (Liverpool), Randal Kolo Muani (Tottenham) Kylian Mbapp茅 (PSG), Michael Olise (Bayern Munich), Marcus Thuram (Inter Milan).
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AP soccer:
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