Blanc finds no place for Gourcuff, Yanga-Mbiwa

France coach Laurent Blanc chose to leave behind newcomer Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa and midfielder Yoan Gourcuff when confirming his final squad for UEFA EURO 2012 a few minutes before the deadline.

Blanc had called up 26 players earlier this month and, after the withdrawal of the injured Loïc Rémy on Friday, two other players had to go. As it was, Olympique Lyonnais playmaker Gourcuff paid the price for his lack of playing time this season while Yanga-Mbiwa, a member of Montpellier Hérault SC's title-winning side, will have to wait for his first cap.

France will take on Serbia in Reims on Thursday and Estonia in Le Mans on 5 June in their last two warm-up games before the opening Group D fixture against England in Donetsk on 11 June.

France squad
Goalkeepers: Cédric Carrasso (FC Girondins de Bordeaux), Hugo Lloris (Olympique Lyonnais), Steve Mandanda (Olympique de Marseille).

Defenders: Gaël Clichy (Manchester City FC), Mathieu Debuchy (LOSC Lille Métropole), Patrice Evra (Manchester United FC), Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal FC), Philippe Mexès (AC Milan), Adil Rami (Valencia CF), Anthony Réveillère (Olympique Lyonnais).

Midfielders: Yohan Cabaye (Newcastle United FC), Alou Diarra (Olympique de Marseille), Florent Malouda (Chelsea FC), Marvin Martin (FC Sochaux-Montbéliard), Blaise Matuidi (Paris Saint-Germain FC), Yann M'Vila (Stade Rennais FC), Samir Nasri (Manchester City FC).

Forwards: Hatem Ben Arfa (Newcastle United FC), Karim Benzema (Real Madrid CF), Olivier Giroud (Montpellier Hérault SC), Jérémy Menez (Paris Saint-Germain FC), Franck Ribéry (FC Bayern München), Mathieu Valbuena (Olympique de Marseille).