Thierry Henry unveiled on Monday a pre-list of 25 players expected to compete in the Olympic Games tournament (July 24-August 9), which includes the Parisians Warren Zaire-Emery and Bradley Barcola and the Lyonnais Alexandre Lacazette. Friday, according to a source close to the club, PSG nevertheless refused to release its two nuggets, executives of Henry’s selection but called by Didier Deschamps to play the Euro in Germany with the “A”.
“This list is the least virtual list, it is the list of the moment, it can evolve until July 3 (deadline for transmitting a final list of 18 players to Fifa and the IOC, Editor’s note) It is a pre-list for preparation, it can evolve and, in my opinion, it will evolve,” insisted Thierry Henry in the preamble. The former glory of Arsenal, for example, only retained two players over 23 years old compared to the three to which he is entitled, including Olympique Lyonnais striker Alexandre Lacazette, 33 years old, “a player of quality , a leader of men.
“A fairly real” but “virtual” list
Henry, who relied on the backbone of the Espoirs group that he also manages to constitute his pre-list, did not retain two executives from the youth selections, the Lyonnais Rayan Cherki and the Lensois Elye Wahi. He did not, as expected, select Kylian Mbappé and Antoine Griezmann, two executives of the Blues who had expressed their desire to participate in the Paris Games, but whose clubs, Real Madrid where Mbappé must commit at the start of week, and Atletico for Griezmann, have already affirmed that they will not release them.
“I have to give a fairly real list, even if I know that it is virtual,” commented Henry, without completely renouncing the presence of Mbappé during the Olympic tournament. “Everything is open for everyone, but we have to give a list so that everyone can prepare. But we are not closing the door to anyone,” he said.
Gathered on Sunday June 16 in Clairefontaine to begin preparation, the Bleuets will have three friendly matches against Paraguay, on July 4 in Bayonne, the Dominican Republic on July 11 and Japan on July 17 in Toulon. The French Olympic team will enter the Olympic Games on July 24 against the United States at the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille.