In or out

When you pick a squad you can’t please everybody and Raymond Domenech had two unhappy customers after announcing his choice for next week’s Slovakia game.

Lyon boss and ex-France manager Gerard Houllier is saying he doesn’t want to release defender Eric Abidal, who’s just come back from a four month layoff after getting injured playing for the national team. Kind of understandable when your team is going strong in its league and the Champions League.

Johan Micoud, who plays for Werder Bremen and scored their winner in the first leg victory over Juventus on wednesday night, wants to play for France but hasn’t been picked since Domenech became coach. Obviously the coach has his reasons but when you’re 32 like Micoud and playing well for a top Bundesliga team, this is probably your last shot at a World Cup and you hope you get a chance.