France World Cup squad to be revealed after Europa final
PARIS (AP) France coach Didier Deschamps has postponed the announcement of his World Cup squad until after the Europa League final to help the French players involved in the game.
The decision was made ''in order not to disturb the preparations of the French players from Marseille and Atletico Madrid,'' The French Football Federation said on Friday.
Deschamps will announce his World Cup selection on May 17, a day after the Europa League final in Lyon.
Marseille advanced to its first European final in 14 years by beating Salzburg on Thursday while Atletico defeated Arsenal.
Several Marseille players, including Steve Mandanda, Florian Thauvin, Dimitri Payet, Adil Rami and Bouna Sarr, have a chance to be included in Deschamps' squad, while Atletico forward Antoine Griezmann is all but guaranteed to travel to Russia.
The federation also confirmed a provisional list of 35 players will have previously been submitted to FIFA by the May 14 deadline. All World Cup participating nations should have finalized their 23-player squads by June 4.
