Mikael Silvestre and Louis Saha have both been named in the French squad for the 2006 World Cup finals.

Silvestre's form has improved greatly towards the end-of-the-season, whilst Saha's keen eye for goal was pivotal as the Red Devils secured runners-up spot in the Premiership and lifted the League Cup in February. The United duo are among eight Premiership players who will hope to help France repeat their success of 1998 and lift the trophy in Germany.

Saha's selection is a little surprising as he looks to end almost two years of international exile following a terrible run of injuries, with his selection perhaps at the expense of Nicolas Anelka. Les Bleus coach Raymond Domenech also raised a few eyebrows with the inclusion of untested duo Pascal Chimbonda and Franck Ribéry. Meanwhile, former Red Devils 'keeper Fabien Barthez has maintained his position as first-choice shot stopper.

The complete 23-man squad is as follows:
Goalkeepers: Fabien Barthez (Olympique de Marseille), Grégory Coupet (Olympique Lyonnais), Mickaël Landreau (FC Nantes Atlantique).

Defenders: Eric Abidal (Olympique Lyonnais), Jean-Alain Boumsong (Newcastle United FC), Pascal Chimbonda (Wigan Athletic FC), William Gallas (Chelsea FC), Gaël Givet (AS Monaco), Willy Sagnol (FC Bayern München), Mikaël Silvestre (Manchester United FC), Lilian Thuram (Juventus).

Midfielders: Vikash Dhorasoo (Paris Saint-Germain FC), Alou Diarra (RC Lens), Claude Makelele (Chelsea FC), Florent Malouda (Olympique Lyonnais), Patrick Vieira (Juventus), Zinédine Zidane (Real Madrid CF).

Forwards: Djibril Cissé (Liverpool FC), Thierry Henry (Arsenal FC), Franck Ribéry (Olympique de Marseille), Louis Saha (Manchester United FC), David Trezeguet (Juventus), Sylvain Wiltord (Olympique Lyonnais).

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