Abidal in but Toulalan still out for ‘Les Bleus’
France coach Laurent Blanc yesterday recalled Barcelona defender Eric Abidal but left out Lyon midfielder Jeremy Toulalan from his 22-man squad for the friendly against England. France face England on November 17 in London and Abidal, who has not...
France coach Laurent Blanc yesterday recalled Barcelona defender Eric Abidal but left out Lyon midfielder Jeremy Toulalan from his 22-man squad for the friendly against England.
France face England on November 17 in London and Abidal, who has not played for Les Bleus since their catastrophic World Cup campaign, has been given the nod following several solid performances on the left side for Barcelona.
Toulalan has recently returned to his traditional defensive midfield position for Lyon after a spell in defence, however even that move has not convinced Blanc who has opted to leave him out.
The French Football Federation (FFF) sanctioned Toulalan for his role in the infamous players’ strike during the World Cup, and while he has purged his three match ban Blanc refuted suggestions he was still paying the price for his actions.
“It’s only fairly recently that he’s started training again and been part of the (Lyon) squad,” added Blanc.
“There is no black mark against the name of Jeremy Toulalan. It’s still possible he’ll be called up. Not this time, but maybe next time.”
The other big midfield loser on the day was Lassana Diarra, who appears to be paying the price for his lack of playing time at Real Madrid under Jose Mourinho.
The England fixture will give Manchester United defender Patrice Evra, one of four players sanctioned with match suspensions, the chance to sit out the last match in a five-match ban from the FFF.
The other players suspended were Franck Ribery (three matches), Nicolas Anelka (18 matches) and Toulalan (one match).