1998 France WC Team to Reunite? And Play?!?

I can’t vouch for the authenticity of this one because it’s showing up in only one place, but sports.iAfrica.com says that Lionel Charbonnier and Christian Karembeu have gotten together to invite the gang from the ‘98 World Cup winning team to get together for two friendlies in Tahiti and New Caledonia in May.

Members of France’s 1998 World Cup-winning team have been invited to reunite for two friendly matches in Tahiti and New Caledonia next May, the Oceania Football Confederation said on Friday.

World Cup winners Lionel Charbonnier and Christian Karembeu joined OFC President Reynald Temarii in Tahiti to launch the matches to honour Tahitian-born France international Pascal Vaihirua and New Caledonia’s Karembeu. …

Karembeu, the former Real Madrid midfielder, has played an active role in humanitarian causes for the OFC and FIFA and is honoured team-mates from the golden era of French football are likely to play in the benefit matchFrance ‘98 will play a Pascal Vaihirua XI at Stade Pater, Tahiti, on 26 May and another match is scheduled for New Caledonia against a Christian Karembeu XI in Noumea.

Organisers have sent out invitations to Zinedine Zidane, Fabien Barthez, Bixente Lizarazu, Didier Deschamps, Emmanuel Petit, Karembeu, Alain Boghossian, Marcel Desailly, Charbonnier, Robert Pires, Youri Djorkaeff, Christophe Dugarry, Franck Lebeouf, Sylvain Wiltord, Vincent Candela, Bernard Lama, Bernard Diomede, David Trezeguet, Patrick Vieira and Stephane Guivarch.

Look at me. See these goosebumps? I really think I could talk myself into a trip to Tahiti in May.

(But did anybody else notice that Lilian Thuram and Thierry Henry aren’t on the list? An oversight. Surely?)