France was always going to snub a cast of stars for the World Cup considering the depth in the national team program, and the inevitable was realized Thursday. Manager Didier Deschamps unveiled his 23-man roster for Russia 2018, omitting the likes of Anthony Martial and Alexandre Lacazette in making his final cuts.
The two Premier League forwards were passed over for the likes of Marseille's Florian Thauvin and Lyon's Nabil Fekir, while talents like Kingsley Coman, Adrien Rabiot, Dimitri Payet and Wissam Ben Yedder were also left behind. France has until the June 4 roster deadline to make any substitutions in the event of an injury.