Two uncapped players in French World Cup squad

PARIS, May 14: France coach Raymond Domenech today named two uncapped players in Franck Ribery and Pascal Chimbonda in his 23-man squad for the World Cup finals.

Domenech had faced heavy pressure to call up Olympique Marseille's Franck Ribery, a 23-year-old attacking midfielder widely regarded as the finest French player in Ligue 1 this season.

The choice of Chimbonda, a 27-year-old defender who plays for Wigan Athletic in the Premier League, came as a total surprise. He handed in a transfer request moments after the team's final game of the season and is a target for Tottenham Hotspur.

Squad: Goalkeepers: Fabien Barthez (Olympique Marseille), Gregory Coupet (Olympique Lyon), Mickael Landreau (Nantes) Defenders: Eric Abidal (Olympique Lyon), Jean-Alain Boumsong (Newcastle United), Pascal Chimbonda (Wigan Athletic), William Gallas (Chelsea), Gael Givet (Monaco) Willy Sagnol (Bayern Munich), Mikael Silvestre (Manchester United), Lilian Thuram (Juventus) Midfielders: Vikash Dhorasoo (Paris St Germain), Alou Diarra (Racing Lens), Claude Makelele (Chelsea), Florent Malouda (Olympique Lyon), Patrick Vieira (Juventus), Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid).

Strikers: Djibril Cisse (Liverpool), Thierry Henry (Arsenal), Franck Ribery (Olympique Marseille), Louis Saha (Manchester United), David Trezeguet (Juventus), Sylvain Wiltord (Olympique Lyon).

Reuters