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Saha looks to state his case

With several France regulars missing, Louis Saha has a chance to push his claims for a UEFA EURO 2004™ place.

By Matt Spiro

European champions France will be without a quintet of strikers as they continue their UEFA EURO 2004™ preparations with a friendly against Belgium in Brussels on Wednesday.

Injured forwards
Injuries have ruled out Thierry Henry, David Trezeguet, Sylvain Wiltord and Ludovic Giuly, while Djibril Cissé has not been considered as he is due to start a five-match suspension at the beginning of EURO 2004™.

Anelka ignored
Having ignored Nicolas Anelka's plea to return to international football, Santini has instead called up uncapped strikers Péguy Luyindula of Olympique Lyonnais and Louis Saha of Manchester United FC, who now have a great chance to push for a plane ticket to Portugal. Meanwhile, Steve Marlet, currently on loan at Olympique de Marseille, returns from a knee injury and AJ Auxerre's Olivier Kapo has been recalled.

'We'll lose some continuity'
"It is up to the new players to take advantage of the situation," Santini said. "Losing key players like Henry and Trezeguet has forced us to bring in two new faces. Inevitably, we'll lose some continuity because they'll need time to integrate."

Options open
The coach has kept his options open by naming a 20-man squad. "We were considering Saha and Luyindula and in the end thought 'why not call them both up?' There is not a lot of time left to prepare for EURO 2004™. It's important for us to monitor the physical state of all the players."

Santini denial
Santini also denied that Saha's recent move to Manchester United had been the motivating force behind his selection. "We weren't waiting for him to join United, he could have been called up when he was at Fulham [FC]," he said. "It is true, though, that players often gain extra motivation and enjoy more success after they join a new club."

No formation change
As the only out-and-out striker in the squad, Saha is likely to start but Santini has dismissed the idea of reverting to the
4-2-3-1 formation employed, to little effect, by Roger Lemerre at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. "We will have some new players but we will not have a new formation. It will still be 4-4-2," he stressed. Aside from the forwards, France are missing just one other player through injury, defender Willy Sagnol, who has been replaced by Philippe Mexès.

Doubtful starters
Hosts Belgium, having failed to qualify for Portugal, are now looking to the 2006 World Cup. Defenders Daniel Van Buyten and Olivier Deschacht are both doubtful starters, while midfield player Jonathan Walasiak has pulled out with a thigh strain. His deputy, Thomas Chatelle, will hope to make his international debut along with striker Luigi Pieroni and midfield player Roberto Bisconti.

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