It was long, it was hard, discussions stumbled with several French and foreign clubs, but we finally know the identity of the players who will represent the French team at the Tokyo Olympics.
When composing his list for the Olympic tournament (July 22-August 7), coach Sylvain Ripoll did not expect to experience so many difficulties.
On June 25, he announced a first list of 18 names, plus a reservist.
But upon arrival, only eleven members of this list will be traveling to Japan.
As the competition did not occupy FIFA dates, the clubs had every right to retain their players. Gautier Larsonneur (Brest), Maxence Prévot (Sochaux), Benoît Badiashile (Monaco), Malang Sarr (Chelsea), Eduardo Camavinga (Rennes), Maxence Caqueret (Lyon), Jonathan Ikoné (Lille) and Amine Gouiri (Nice) have all been blocked by their respective clubs. This has forced the FFF to accelerate on other files in recent days, not without difficulty, in order to find a replacement for them. They were able to take advantage of a waiver of two additional days, granted by FIFA. We also had to deal with a major regulatory change, since the notion of reservists no longer exists. Each nation has the possibility of retaining 22 players with the same status, on the other hand they will have to eliminate four of them on the scoresheet.
Berthaud and Lihadji are on standby
This Friday afternoon, it is an updated list of 21 elements which was unveiled by the Federation.
And as announced a little earlier on the Parisian website, PSG defender Timothée Pembélé will play well in the Olympic Games this summer.
He will not be present for the resumption of Paris Saint-Germain scheduled for Monday at Camp des Loges.
Paris agreed to give up its player after closing the door to Brazilians Neymar and Marquinhos, as well as Colin Dagba and Kylian Mbappé, who all aspired to compete in the Olympics.
Not selected beforehand, Stefan Bajic (Saint-Etienne), Melvin Bard (Lyon), Modibo Sagnan (Real Sociedad), Jérémy Gélin (Rennes) and Enzo Le Fée (Lorient) are called in to compensate for the many forfeits. Two Ligue 2 players also: Ismaël Doukouré (Valenciennes) and Alexis Beka Beka (Caen). In addition, in agreement with the clubs of Montpellier and Lille, goalkeeper Dimitry Bertaud and striker Isaac Lihadji will remain in their club and will join the selection only if necessary. In total, 19 players, with André-Pierre Gignac, Florian Thauvin and Téji Savanier, will meet Sunday at Clairefontaine to tackle the preparation, before flying to Tokyo. The end of a long ordeal for Sylvain Ripoll and his staff who will finally be able to turn fully to this great deadline.
The 19 players who will go to Tokyo
Goalkeepers:
Stefan Bajic (Saint-Etienne), Paul Bernardoni (Angers)
Defenders:
Melvin Bard (Lyon), Anthony Caci (Strasbourg), Ismaël Doukouré (Valenciennes, L2), Pierre Kalulu (AC Milan, ITA), Clément Michelin (Lens), Timothée Pembélé (PSG), Modibo Sagnan (Real Sociedad, ESP )
Midfielders:
Alexis Beka Beka (Caen, L2), Jérémy Gélin (Rennes), Enzo Le Fée (Lorient), Téji Savanier (Montpellier), Florian Thauvin (Tigres, MEX), Lucas Tousart (Hertha Berlin, ALL)
Forwards:
André-Pierre Gignac (Tigres, MEX), Randal Kolo Muani (Nantes), Nathanaël Mbuku (Reims), Arnaud Nordin (Saint-Etienne)
