France World Cup Squad: Who will be this year's Pascal Chimbonda?

France / Ben Lyttleton / 11 May 2010 / Leave a comment Free £25 Bet

Could Claude Makele be a shock inclusion in France's World Cup squad?

France's embattled coach has consulted the stars, crystal balls and, hopefully, the performances of his players over the last season. As Raymond Domenech prepares to announce his World Cup squad, Ben Lyttleton takes on the unenviable task of predicting what Les Bleus boss might be thinking.

"France are [2.08] to win their opening match against Uruguay and [2.12] to top the group, but at this stage getting through to the next round, for which they are [1.33], might be seen as a decent achievement."

It has been an uncomfortable few days for France coach Raymond Domenech, and not just because he spent part of last week laid up in bed following a slipped disc. The 'injury' ruled him out of a scouting trip to Manchester City to check up on Patrick Vieira before his 23-man squad announcement later today.

All weekend, France's media were guessing who will be this year's Pascal Chimbonda, the surprise pick that no-one saw coming, just as the former Wigan full-back was called up to France's 2006 Word Cup squad (for the record, his only international experience is two minutes as a late substitute in a pre-tournament friendly). The list of possibles includes Sylvain Distin, Gael Kakuta, Sebastien Puygrenier, Jeremy Menez, David N¹Gog and Charles N'Zogbia (another potential Wigan World Cup call-up).

That these players are even getting mentioned now says as much about Domenech's unpredictable selection technique as their own form. That said, two unlikely players who have made a late burst into contention should seal their places: Djibril Cisse, whose 23 goals for Greek champions Panathinaikos may seem him preferred to the out-of-form Andre-Pierre Gignac, and Mathieu Valbuena, whose form helped inspire Marseille to their first French title for 18 years.

Despite all this, France's tricky Group A draw alongside hosts South Africa and Mexico and Uruguay has left fans fearing the worst. France are [2.08] to win their opening match against Uruguay and ([2.12]) to top the group, but at this stage getting through to the next round, for which they are [1.33], might be seen as a decent achievement.

That's because Domenech comes into the tournament with a series of problems in key positions, and several important players struggling with issues away from the pitch. William Gallas, his first-choice centre-back, is not guaranteed to have recovered from his knee injury in time for the tournament, and the coach had still not worked out who his best partner was. Eric Abidal was in contention despite palying left-back for Barcelona.

Then there is the Franck Ribery affair: the Bayern Munich winger has spent most of the season injured, moping on the sidelines and failing to dampen speculation about his future. That was harmless enough, but then he was questioned by police as a witness in an investigation into an underage prostitution network. When Zahia D, the girl in question, spilled the beans to a French magazine, she opened the floodgates to a new style of scandal previously unseen in France, and potentially leaving other celebrities nervous. The scandal has dominated the French news, and Ribery's team-mate Florent Malouda admitted that it has affected the team. "It does disrupt preparations, the players are obviously affected when they are thrown to the lions like that," he said.

Ironically, it's Malouda who represents Ribery's biggest threat to his preferred position in the side. Ribery has publicly asked Domenech to play him on the left-wing, where he has done so well for Bayern in the past, but the coach has preferred Thierry Henry, the skipper, in that position. Ribery has been stuck out on the right wing but Malouda has been in such good form at the moment that Henry's place on the left might now be up for grabs. With Nicolas Anelka but not assured of the centre-forward spot, all of France's front three places are up in the air.

A solution that has been pushed by the players themselves is for Domenech to revert to a 4-4-2 formation with Malouda and Ribery out wide, and Henry and Anelka through the middle. That would leave Yoann Gourcuff marginalised, amid rumours that the older generation of players would rather the Bordeaux playmaker was out of the side.

But the biggest problem for Domenech remains the lack of leaders in this group. He allowed Lilian Thuram, Zinedine Zidane and Claude Makelele to rejoin the team in time for the 2006 World Cup and reports are gathering pace that Makelele, now 37, could be the biggest surprise inclusion of all.
The PSG midfielder has said he has no intention of playing this summer, but he said the same in 2006, before explaining that he could not possibly turn down his country.

One thing is for sure, as the country will tune in to the French news at seven o'clock this evening, for the live announcement: Domenech will keep us guessing to the end.

Tags: Claude Makele, Djibril Cisse, football betting, France, Franck Ribery, Raymond Domenech, World Cup betting