PARIS (AFP) — France coach Raymond Domenech confirmed Sunday that he will announce on May 18 the list of players who will participate in preparations for the European football championships.
But Domenech said that he was not sure whether the list would be the final squad of 23 players or a larger group.
"From May 18 there will be the Champions League final, the French Cup, the Italian Cup, a lot of players will still be in competition, it will be either a definitive list, fixed or an extended list," Domenech told French television.
"The idea of keeping as many players as possible under pressure doesn't satisfy me, it puts the players in a complicated situation with doubts, uncertainties, but we have to set a date (for the list)."
Domenech has opted for a system which was used by Aime Jacquet before the 1998 World Cup which France won whereby players who are named on May 18 may not make it to the Euro 2008 finals.
The France coach added that his "worst nightmare is the calendar which can result in injuries at the worst time".
France have been drawn in Group C with world champions Italy, the Netherlands and Romania for the first round of the tournament which takes place from June 7-29 in Austria and Switzerland.
They open against Romania on June 9.
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