France are right to leave troublemaker Nasri at home

With a history of unsettling the national squad, Deschamps has made the correct call in leaving the Manchester City star out of his 30-man provisional World Cup list Samir Nasri's exclusion from France's 30-man preliminary World Cup squad may come as a surprise to fans of the Premier League, who have seen the Manchester City midfielder excel over the past three months.

For followers of the French game, however, who watched Deschamps name his squad on prime-time TV, this embarrassing oversight comes as little shock.

Even as the 26-year-old scored the opening goal as Manuel Pellegrini’s side defeated West Ham 2-0 on a rain-soaked Sunday afternoon to essentially secure his team the Premier League title, he was aware that no stellar his performance, Didier Deschamps was bound to overlook him.

It was an eventuality even predicted by the player himself when he said earlier this week: “I'll watch the World Cup on TV.

“If starting games in a club like Manchester City and winning two titles isn't enough, too bad, I won't regret anything.”

The former Olympique de Marseille and Arsenal star has not been judged on his footballing ability – that would unquestionably see him heading to Brazil bedecked in the dark blue of his national side – he has been omitted because he is perceived to be a troublemaker.


In the mind of Deschamps, who has not selected the Marseille-born player since he started the 2-0 playoff loss to Ukraine in November, another high-profile squad bust up in the France ranks cannot be risked.

Since the days of Raymond Domenech and the Knysna strike of the 2010 World Cup, in which the players staged a sit-in on their bus and refused point-blank to train for the eccentric coach, a wound has festered between the national team and the French public, disgusted by what is perceived to be the behaviour of spoilt-brat footballers.