Abidal returns to Les Bleus

The French national coach, Didier Deschamps called up the left-back for his 66th cap for 'Les Bleus' after "speaking with him at length about his state of mind", his experiences with the national team and his great pre-season. 33 year old Abidal’s last international appearance was on 29th February 2012 during a friendly against Germany.

The other big inclusion in the 23-man squad announced by Deschamps today is a first international call-up for Sevilla midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia, a key member of the team that recently won the Under-20 World Cup in Turkey.

Also worth mentioning was Samir Nasri’s return to the French team. The Manchester City midfielder had not been called up for international duty since he insulted the press at last year’s European Championships in Poland and the Ukraine. He returns to a side which includes the usual suspects of Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema, Manchester United defender Patrice Evra and Valencia defender Adil Rami.