France coach Deschamps names heavy hitters in squad to face Bafana

France coach Didier Deschamps has named a galaxy of stars ion a strong squad for the friendly against Bafana Bafana in Lille this month, including N'Golo Kante, Paul Pogba, Kylian Mbappe and Karim Benzema.

Bafana take on Guinea on March 25 in Belgium and world champions France on March 29 at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy, which is the home of Ligue 1 side LOSC Lille.

Some of the top international players who are going to put Hugo Broos’ men to the test are Raphael Varane of Manchester United, Kingsley Coman of Bayern Munich, Antoine Griezmann of Atletico Madrid and Christopher Nkunku of RB Leipzig.

Broos named his squad on Monday. To try to upset Les Bleus, the Bafana coach will pin his hopes on the likes of Ronwen Williams, Rushine De Reuck, Teboho Mokoena, Goodman Mosele, Keagan Dolly, Bongokuhle Hlongwane, Evidence Makgopa and Percy Tau.

The last time France and Bafana met was during the group stages of the 2010 World Cup where SA won 2-1 at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein.

France Squad

Goalkeepers: Alphonse Areola (West Ham United), Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur), Mike Maignan (AC Milan)

Defenders: Jonathan Clauss (Lens), Lucas Digne (Aston Villa), Lucas Hernandez (Bayern Munich), Theo Hernandez (AC Milan), Presnel Kimpembe (PSG), Jules Kounde (Sevilla), Benjamin Pavard (Bayern Munich), Raphael Varane (Manchester United)

Midfielders: Matteo Guendouzi (Marseille), N'Golo Kante (Chelsea), Paul Pogba (Manchester United), Adrien Rabiot (Juventus), Aurelien Tchouameni (Monaco)

Forwards: Wissam Ben Yedder (Monaco), Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), Kingsley Coman (Bayern Munich), Moussa Diaby (Bayer Leverkusen), Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid), Kylian Mbappe (PSG), Christopher Nkunku (RB Leipzig)

TimesLIVE