French manager Didier Deschamps has named a largely unsurprising 23-man squad for Euro 2016, but has left out in-form Hatem Ben Afra and seasoned international Morgan Schneiderlin.
The two have been placed on an 8-man standby list, and will require a player a to pull-out injured before the May 31 final squad submission date.
Ben Arfa has enjoyed his most prolific season of his career with 17 goals for Nice, while Schneiderlin has underwhelmed in his first season at Manchester United after crossing from Southmapton in the summer.
“When you have to build a squad for a final tournament, you don’t pick the best players, you just try to build the best squad,” said Deschamps as he revealed his selection live on national broadcaster TF1.
The squad is headlined by the likes of N’Golo Kanté, Dimitri Payet, Paul Pogba and Antoine Griezmann, who will be looking to fire France towards silverware as hosts for the first time since France 1998.
France will gather in the Basque country to start their final preparations. On 30 May, they meet Cameroon in a friendly in Nantes before facing Scotland on 4 June in Metz ahead of their Stade de France Group A opener with Romania six days later.
France squad for UEFA EURO 2016
Goalkeepers: Benoît Costil (Rennes), Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur), Steve Mandanda (Marseille).
Defenders: Lucas Digne (Roma), Patrice Évra (Juventus), Christophe Jallet (Lyon), Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal), Eliaquim Mangala (Manchester City), Jérémy Mathieu (Barcelona), Bacary Sagna (Manchester City), Raphaël Varane (Real Madrid).
Midfielders: Yohan Cabaye (Crystal Palace), Lassana Diarra (Marseille), N’Golo Kanté (Leicester City), Blaise Matuidi (Paris Saint-Germain), Paul Pogba (Juventus), Moussa Sissoko (Newcastle United).
Forwards: Kingsley Coman (Bayern München), André-Pierre Gignac (Tigres), Olivier Giroud (Arsenal), Antoine Griezmann (Atlético Madrid), Anthony Martial (Manchester United), Dimitri Payet (West Ham United).
Stand-by list: Alphonse Aréola (goalkeeper, Villarreal), Hatem Ben Arfa (forward, Nice), Kévin Gameiro (forward, Sevilla), Alexandre Lacazette (forward, Lyon), Adrien Rabiot (midfielder, Paris Saint-Germain), Morgan Schneiderlin (midfielder, Manchester United), Djibril Sidibé (midfielder, Lille), Samuel Umtiti (defender, Lyon).
Et voici la liste des joueurs sélectionnés par Didier Deschamps et son staff pour l’@EURO2016 ! #FiersdetreBleus ?? pic.twitter.com/teMC8XB2AA
— Equipe de France (@equipedefrance) May 12, 2016
France’s Group A fixtures
10/06: France v Romania (Saint-Denis)
15/06: France v Albania (Marseille)
19/06: Switzerland v France (Lille)
Fellow Group A opponents Romania have also announced their squad for the tournament, with manager Anghel Iordănescu naming a 28-man provisional squad as the team prepares for their Italy training camp from next Wednesday.
There are few surprises among them, but Iordănescu’s biggest initial challenge appears to be getting the players together in good time before deciding upon his final 23 before the 31 May deadline.
Ovidiu Hoban’s last game of the season for Israeli league leaders Hapoel Beer Sheva is on 21 May, Alexandru Maxim may have a relegation-promotion play-off with Stuttgart in Germany. Ludogorets have already been crowned in Bulgaria but their three Romania players could remain until the last round on 29 May.
Then there is Florin Andone, who plays for Córdoba in the Spanish second tier, where the regular season continues until 5 June. Regulations state players must be released by clubs before then, though.
Provisional Romania squad for UEFA EURO 2016
Goalkeepers: Ciprian Tătăruşanu (Fiorentina), Costel Pantilimon (Watford), Silviu Lung (Astra Giurgiu).
Defenders: Cristian Săpunaru (Pandurii Târgu Jiu), Alexandru Matel (Dinamo Zagreb), Vlad Chiricheş (Napoli), Valerică Găman (Astra Giurgiu), Cosmin Moţi (Ludogorets), Dragoş Grigore (Al-Sailiya), Răzvan Raţ (Rayo Vallecano), Steliano Filip (Dinamo Bucureşti), Alin Toşca (Steaua Bucureşti).
Midfielders: Mihai Pintilii (Steaua Bucureşti), Ovidiu Hoban (Hapoel Beer Sheva), Adrian Ropotan (Pandurii Târgu Jiu), Andrei Prepeliţă (Ludogorets), Adrian Popa (Steaua Bucureşti), Gabriel Torje (Osmanlıspor), Alexandru Chipciu (Steaua Bucureşti), Alexandru Maxim (Stuttgart), Nicolae Stanciu (Steaua Bucureşti), Lucian Sânmărtean (al-Ittihad).
Forwards: Claudiu Keșerü (Ludogorets), Bogdan Stancu (Gençlerbirliği), Florin Andone (Córdoba), Denis Alibec (Astra Giurgiu), Ioan Hora (Pandurii Târgu Jiu), Andrei Ivan (CSU Craiova).
Romania’s Group A fixtures
10/06: France v Romania (Saint-Denis)
15/06: Romania v Switzerland (Paris)
19/06: Romania v Albania (Lyon)
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