French call up experienced squad for next week

French coach Roger Lemerre has included no surprises in his selection to face Germany in Paris on Tuesday night with several experienced players returning to the squad.

The friendly continues the preparations for the 2002 finals with Bixente Lizarazu, Youri Djorkaeff, Christophe Dugarry and Christian Karembeu all returning to the squad after missing the 4-0 win over Turkey in Istanbul last November.

Olympique Lyon striker Steve Marlet, midfielder Claude Makelele of Real Madrid and highly rated AS Monaco defender Philippe Christanval are the new introductions while Emmanuel Petit is retained despite his problems at FC Barcelona which has led to a bid to sign the former Arsenal star from Fulham.

The squad in full -

Goalkeepers - Fabien Barthez (Manchester United) and Ulrich Rame (Girondins Bordeaux).

Defenders - Vincent Candela (AS Roma), Philippe Christanval (AS Monaco), Marcel Desailly (Chelsea), Frank Leboeuf (Chelsea), Bixente Lizarazu (Bayern Munich) and Lilian Thuram (Parma AC).

Midfielders - Christian Karembeu (Middlesbrough), Claude Makelele (Real Madrid), Emmanuel Petit (FC Barcelona), Robert Pires (Arsenal), Patrick Vieira (Arsenal) and Zinedine Zidane (Juventus).

Strikers - Nicolas Anelka (PSG), Youri Djorkaeff (Kaiserslautern), Christophe Dugarry (Girondins Bordeaux), Thierry Henry (Arsenal), Steve Marlet (Olympique Lyon) and Sylvain Wiltord (Arsenal).