Group: D
Bet-at-home odds: 11,00
Fixtures: England (11/6), Ukraine (15/6), Sweden (19/6)
Squad
Goalkeepers: Hugo Lloris (Olympique Lyon), Steve Mandanda (Olympique Marseille), Cedric Carrasso (Girondins Bordeaux)
Defenders: Gael Clichy (Manchester City), Patrice Evra (Manchester United), Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal), Philippe Mexes (AC Milan), Adil Rami (Valencia), Mathieu Debuchy (Lille), Anthony Reveillere (Olympique Lyon)
Midfielders: Yohan Cabaye (Newcastle United), Florent Malouda (Chelsea), Samir Nasri (Manchester City), Alou Diarra (Olympique Marseille), Yann M’vila (Stade Rennes), Marvin Martin (Sochaux), Blaise Matuidi (Paris St Germain)
Forwards: Hatem Ben Arfa (Newcastle United), Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich), Olivier Giroud (Montpellier), Jeremy Menez (Paris St Germain), Mathieu Valbuena (Olympique Marseille).
France want to get rid of the poor image they gave in the last World Cup, knocked out in the group stages, players boycotting training, resulted in a complete overhaul of the team. As punishment, new coach Laurent Blanc asked the French federation tu suspend all 23 players in 'Les Bleus' first friendly after the World Cup.
France finished the Euro 2012 qualifiers top of their group, losing only one match.This summer they are up against England, Ukraine and Sweden. Real Madrid star is top goalscorer for France with 13 goals.
The worst news for Les Bleus is that Barcelona left-back Eric Abidal won't be able to play this summer's tournament. A year ago he was diagnosed with a tumour in his liver. He underwent surgery in March, and surprisingly was able to play the Champions League final just months after. however this year he has had to undergo a liver transplant, which rules him out with his club Barcelona for the rest of the season and more than likely he will miss out on the European Championship.
France, along with Spain and Germany, are the only teams to win the World Cup and the European Championship one after the other (The 1998 European Championship and the 2000 World Cup). Overall they have two European titles and one World Cup.
Source: DSG
