France Squad for UEFA World Cup Playoff with Ireland

[digg=http://digg.com/soccer/France_Squad_for_UEFA_World_Cup_Playoff_with_Ireland]French national football team coach Raymond Domenech has named his squad for Les Bleus two-legged with the Republic of Ireland.

There are few surprises in the squad apart from the omission of former France captain Patrick Vieira in favour of younger Ligue 1 talent like Loic Remy and Rod Fanni.

France and Ireland meet in Dublin on November, 14th. The second leg of the playoff will take place on November 18th in Saint-Denis. The winner of the series on aggregate goals (with the home and away goal rule in effect) advances to the FIFA World Cup in South Africa next year.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Cedric Carrasso (Girondins Bordeaux), Hugo Lloris (Olympique Lyon), Steve Mandanda (Olympique Marseille)

Defenders: Eric Abidal (Barcelona), Aly Cissokho (Olympique Lyon), Patrice Evra (Manchester United), Julien Escude (Sevilla), Rod Fanni (Stade Rennes), William Gallas (Arsenal), Bacary Sagna (Arsenal), Sebastien Squillaci (Sevilla)

Midfielders: Abou Diaby (Arsenal), Alou Diarra (Girondins Bordeaux), Lassana Diarra (Real Madrid), Yoann Gourcuff (Girondins Bordeaux), Moussa Sissoko (Toulouse), Jeremy Toulalan (Olympique Lyon)

Forwards: Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea), Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), Andre-Pierre Gignac (Toulouse), Sidney Govou (Olympique Lyon), Thierry Henry (Barcelona), Florent Malouda (Chelsea), Loic Remy (Nice).