Madrid duo missing for France

Zinedine Zidane and Claude Makelele have been excused from France's squad for the forthcoming FIFA Confederations Cup.

Club responsibilities
The two Real Madrid CF players have been allowed to stay with their club as the Primera División season comes to a dramatic end, and will not be appearing in the finals of the competition which take place between 19 and 28 June in France.

Spanish finale
Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw against RC Celta de Vigo on Saturday to remain within a point of current Spanish table-toppers Real Sociedad, and France coach Jacques Santini has agreed with Madrid coach Vicente Del Bosque to leave the pair with their club. Under a similar deal, fellow Confederations Cup competitors Brazil have agreed not to select Madrid duo Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos. The Spanish season ends on 23 June.

First call-up
The absence of Zidane and Makelele has given Santini the chance to give some less experienced players a taste of international action. The 26-year-old Atalanta BC midfield player Ousmane Dabo has joined the 22-man squad for the first time as a replacement for Makelele, while AJ Auxerre defender Jean-Alain Boumsong, who scored the winning goal against Paris Saint-Germain FC in this weekend's French Cup final, has received only his second call-up.

Reigning champions
France are the reigning Confederations Cup holders, having won the competition when it was held in Korea/Japan two years ago. They open their defence of the title with a game against Colombia on 18 June. The tournament will provide useful practice for the squad as France continue their campaign to qualify for the finals of UEFA EURO 2004™. They are six points clear of second-placed Slovenia in Group 1 as they await their next qualifier, a home game against Cyprus on 6 September.

France squad
Barthez, Coupet, Landreau, Gallas, Desailly, Lizarazu, Mexès, Sagnol, Silvestre, Thuram, Boumsong, Pedretti, Pires, Rothen, Dacourt, Kapo, Giuly, Wiltord, Dabo, Cissé, Govou, Henry, Marlet.