Blanc names French squad for Euros

Gourcuff and Yanga-Mbiwa cut from France Euro 2012 squad.

Initially the France boss had named a total of 27 players in his pre-selection panel, but Olympique de Marseille’s Loic Remy dropped out last week because of a thigh problem sustained at the tail end of the Ligue 1 season along with Tottenham centre-back Younes Kaboul, who is also stricken.

Speculation was rife as to the identities of the other two unfortunate men would be, but Gourcuff was always considered to be a likely player to drop out after a difficult campaign with Olympique Lyonnais. He was given the chance to impress in Sunday’s 3-2 friendly win over Iceland in Valenciennes, but clearly did not do enough in Blanc’s eyes to justify his selection.

Yanga-Mbiwa, meanwhile, was one of four centre-backs named in the initial squad, but the uncapped Montpellier player will not travel to Ukraine with the rest of the team, with his lack of experience probably a key factor in the coach’s decision making.

France meet Serbia on Thursday and then face Estonia on June 5 as their warm-up matches end. They will meet England, Sweden and co-hosts Ukraine in Group D of the competition proper.

France's 23-man squad to play Euro 2012:

Name Club

Goalkeepers:

Hugo Lloris

Lyon

Steve Mandanda

Marseille

Cedric Carrasso

Bordeaux

Defenders:

Gael Clichy Manchester City

Mathieu Debuchy

Lille

Patrice Evra Manchester United

Laurent Koscielny Arsenal

Philippe Mexes AC Milan

Adil Rami Valencia

Anthony Reveillere

Lyon

Midfielders:

Hatem Ben Arfa Newcastle

Yohan Cabaye Newcastle

Alou Diarra

Marseille

Yann M'Vila

Rennes

Marvin Martin

Sochaux

Florent Malouda Chelsea

Blaise Matuidi PSG

Samir Nasri Manchester City

Franck Ribery Bayern Munich

Attackers:

Karim Benzema Real Madrid

Olivier Giroud Montpellier

Jeremy Menez PSG

Mathieu Valbuena Marseille

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