Posted on May 15
French national football team's coach Laurent Blanc gives a press conference in Paris, to announce the preliminary 26-man squad for the the 2012 Euro squad in Poland-Ukraine. Blanc named Yoann Gourcuff in his preliminary squad, while there was a surprise first call-up for Montpellier defender Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa.

France coach Laurent Blanc named Yoann Gourcuff in his preliminary 26-man squad for Euro 2012 on Tuesday, while there was a surprise first call-up for Montpellier defender Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa.

Gourcuff, 25, had been in danger of missing out, having made only 13 league appearances for Lyon this season due to injury, and received the last of his 28 caps in March 2011.

"On club form, his record is indefensible, as he's hardly played and when he has played, he's not performed well, but for France, his record is not that bad," explained Blanc, who won the Ligue 1 title with Gourcuff at Bordeaux in 2009.

"He's definitely benefited from the circumstances: during his long absence, no-one has imposed themselves in his area of the pitch."

Yanga-Mbiwa, who celebrated his 23rd birthday on Tuesday, took the place of Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Younes Kaboul, who was forced to drop out of the squad due to a patellar tendon injury.

"Younes is out of the Euro," Blanc announced on Eurosport.

France coach Laurent Blanc named Yoann Gourcuff, pictured in April 2012, in his preliminary 26-man squad for Euro 2012 on Tuesday, while there was a surprise first call-up for Montpellier defender Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa.

"He has a fairly significant injury to his knee, the patellar tendon, that's been troubling him for quite a while."

Blanc had previously unveiled a 12-man list of players playing overseas on May 9.

Yanga-Mbiwa's inclusion came at the expense of Mamadou Sakho, who lost his place in the Paris Saint-Germain starting line-up following the arrival of Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti in December.

"It's a surprise," said Yanga-Mbiwa. "I wasn't expecting it. I had a normal day because I wasn't thinking about it. But it's just a preliminary call-up. You can't get carried away. You have to keep working."

Sakho's club-mate Blaise Matuidi also received a call-up, but there was no place for PSG striker Kevin Gameiro or Lyon's Bafetimbi Gomis.

Marseille striker Loic Remy was granted a place in the squad despite having sustained a thigh injury on Sunday that is likely to keep him out of action for up to four weeks.

However, Blanc admitted that the chances of Remy being fit were not good.

"Remy has a pretty serious injury," said Blanc.

"We contacted the Marseille staff and it is true the conundrum we were faced with was either leave him out totally or give him the possiblity -- albeit a small one -- of recovering in time for the Euro.

"We chose the second possibility. We will leave it until May 28 (the eve of the deadline for announcing the final squad) to see how he is."

France were drawn alongside England, Sweden and co-hosts Ukraine in Group D at Euro 2012 and begin their campaign against the English in Donetsk on June 11.

Blanc must announce his final 23-man squad by May 29.

Preliminary 26-man France squad for Euro 2012

Goalkeepers: Cedric Carrasso (Bordeaux), Hugo Lloris (Lyon), Steve Mandanda (Marseille)

Defenders: Gael Clichy (Manchester City/ENG), Mathieu Debuchy (Lille), Patrice Evra (Manchester United/ENG), Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal/ENG), Philippe Mexes (AC Milan/ITA), Adil Rami (Valencia/ESP), Anthony Reveillere (Lyon), Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa (Montpellier)

Midfielders: Yohan Cabaye (Newcastle United/ENG), Alou Diarra (Marseille), Yoann Gourcuff (Lyon), Florent Malouda (Chelsea/ENG), Marvin Martin (Sochaux), Blaise Matuidi (Paris Saint-Germain), Yann M'Vila (Rennes), Samir Nasri (Manchester City/ENG), Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich/GER)

Forwards: Hatem Ben Arfa (Newcastle United/ENG), Karim Benzema (Real Madrid/ESP), Olivier Giroud (Montpellier), Jeremy Menez (Paris Saint-Germain), Loic Remy (Marseille), Mathieu Valbuena (Marseille)

French national football team's coach Laurent Blanc gives a press conference in Paris, to announce the preliminary 26-man squad for the the 2012 Euro squad in Poland-Ukraine. Blanc named Yoann Gourcuff in his preliminary squad, while there was a surprise first call-up for Montpellier defender Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa.

French national football team's coach Laurent Blanc gives a press conference in Paris, to announce the preliminary 26-man squad for the the 2012 Euro squad in Poland-Ukraine. Blanc named Yoann Gourcuff in his preliminary squad, while there was a surprise first call-up for Montpellier defender Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa.