12 Premier League Based Players Named In France Squad For WC Qualifier

France boss Didier Deschamps named his 23-man squad today to take on Finland in their upcoming World Cup qualifier and over half the squad ply their trade in the Premier League.

Newcastle lead the way with four representatives, namely Mathieu Debuchy, Yohan Cabaye, Moussa Sissoko and Loic Remy. Arsenal are also famed for having a strong French contingent in their ranks and Arsene Wenger will release Bacary Sagna, Laurent Koscielny and Olivier Giroud for duty next week.

Manchester City have two representatives in Samir Nasri and Gael Clichy while Liverpool’s new signing Mamadou Sakho and Manchester United’s Patrice Evra are also included. Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris captains the squad once again.

That makes a total of 12 players in the France squad who play in the Premier League. Remarkable.  Here is a full run-through of the squad:

Goalkeepers

Hugo Llloris  (Tottenham Hotspur)
Mickael Landrau (Bastia)
Steve Mandanda (Marseille)

Defenders

Eric Abidal (Monaco)
Gael Clichy (Manchester City)
Patrice Evra (Manchester United)
Bacary Sagna (Arsenal)
Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal)
Raphael Varane (Real Madrid)
Mamadou Sakho (Liverpool)
Mathieu Debuchy (Newcastle)

Midfielders

Samir Nasri (Manchester City)
Paul Pogba (Juventus)
Blaise Matuidi (Paris Saint-Germain)
Yohan Cabaye (Newcastle United)
Clement Grenier (Lyon)
Moussa Sissoko (Newcastle United)

Attackers

Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
Olivier Giroud (Arsenal)
Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich)
Dimitri Payet (Marseille)
Loic Remy (Newcastle United)
Mathieu Valbuena (Marseille)

France currently sit joint top with Spain in Group I, but have played a game more, and they take on Australia in a friendly next Friday night before entertaining Finland the following Tuesday in their final World Cup qualifier.