Thierry Henry, the coach of France’s under-23 team, has announced the squad for the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris, and Kylian Mbappé is notably absent.
Despite his desire to represent Les Bleus in back-to-back tournaments, including UEFA Euro 2024 and the Olympics, Mbappé was not included in the list of players released Monday.
Henry admitted that it was challenging to assemble a squad capable of winning the competition, given that the Olympics are outside of FIFA’s jurisdiction, and clubs are not obliged to release players.
“Real Madrid were really straightforward about the Olympics,” Henry said. “The last time I suffered this many rejections was back in my college days. There have not even been negotiations. You go, you ask, they say no, and you leave.”
The squad includes Olympique Lyonnais’ Alexandre Lacazette, who will be one of two overage players, along with Crystal Palace’s Jean-Philippe Mateta.
Lille OSC have provided three players in Lucas Chevalier, Leny Yoro, and Bafode Diakite, while Stade Rennais have also provided Adrien Truffert, Desire Doue, and Arnaud Kalimuendo.
Paris Saint-Germain pair Warren Zaire-Emery and Bradley Barcola feature in the squad, although the former might not captain the team as he does at under-21 level with the experienced Lacazette present.
Diakite, Kone, and Thuram are all 23, which is the maximum eligibility age before a player can be deemed overage. The last French Olympic squad featured Andre-Pierre Gignac, Florian Thauvin, and Teji Savanier as the overage trio.
One possible solution to the remaining available overage slot could be a player who misses out on the Euros or a player who has fallen out of contention under Didier Deschamps but fits the bill in terms of Henry’s needs.
Aurelien Tchouameni, who is struggling with injury and missed the Champions League final at Wembley, is 24 and would qualify as overage, although Real’s stance on the Games is unlikely to change.
There is also the possibility of a Savnier-esque wildcard option, which could present itself in the form of Stade Brestois 29’s Pierre Lees-Melou, who had interested Deschamps after his integral role in the Breton club’s sensational UCL qualification pre-injury.
👨🎨 A 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩 of 2️⃣5️⃣ names 📋
— French Team ⭐⭐ (@FrenchTeam) June 3, 2024
Here are the players called up by Thierry Henry to prepare for the 𝙊𝙡𝙮𝙢𝙥𝙞𝙘 𝙂𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙨 🇫🇷👊#BleuCollectif pic.twitter.com/dw6wlH7Tg1
Here is the full France Olympic squad:
Goalkeepers: Lucas Chevalier, Guillaume Restes, Obed Nkambadio, and Robin Risser.
Defenders: Bafode Diakite, Leny Yoro, Maxime Esteve, Bradley Locko, Castello Lukeba, Kiliann Sildillia, and Adrien Truffert.
Midfielders: Maghnes Akliouche, Joris Chotard, Desire Doue, Manu Kone, Khephren Thuram, Enzo Millot, Lesley Ugochukwu, and Warren Zaire-Emery.
Attackers: Arnaud Kalimuendo, Alexandre Lacazette (overage), Bradley Barcola, Jean-Philippe Mateta (overage), Michael Olise, and Mathys Tel.
