 France shake up squad
Almost two months after defending their Olympic title in London, France are back in action as they look to qualify for the EHF EURO 2014 in Denmark.
Their first match will see them play Lithuania on 1 November in Rouen, followed by a trip to Turkey, in Mersin on 4 November.
The national team coach, Claude Onesta, who recently extended his contract with the French federation until 2017, unveiled a 18-man squad with some of his usual key players not featuring in it.
France will play without captain Jérôme Fernandez, who is injured at the moment with a thumb fracture, as well as Guillaume Gille who has retired from his international career.
Samuel Honrubia and Nikola Karabatic do not feature on the list either, after being left out by Claude Onesta. He said: "Given the legal supervision measures currently enforced, I have made the choice not to select the involved players. I reserve the right to complete this squad afterwards."
There are a number of additions to the squad that won the Olympics in London, Arnaud Bingo, Sébastien Bosquet, Grégoire Detrez, Cyril Dumoulin, Igor Anic, and Kentin Mahé all return to the squad.
They are joined by a new left back, Mathieu Grébielle, who has been given a chance thanks to a strong start to the season with Montpellier.
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The French team for the opening two EHF EURO 2014 qualifiers:
Goalkeepers: Dumoulin, Karaboué, Omeyer.
Court players: Dinart, Barachet, B. Gille, Narcisse, Joli, Mahé, Accambray, Abalo, Sorhaindo, Guigou, Bosquet, Detrez, Bingo, Grebille, Anic.
TEXT: Nicolas Chardon / cor
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