I am shocked with some of the squad selections of the nations going to the World Cup. In comparison to other countries, Fabio Capello’s England squad was generally what we expected with no real omissions that would lead to a public outcry. However, the likes of France, Brazil and Argentina have all disregarded players that I would have thought would have been certs to go the World Cup.

There was certainly controversy in France as Raymond Domenech left out Karim Benzema, Samir Nasri and Patrick Vieira from his provisional World Cup squad. In my opinion he has made a big mistake with two of those players.

Karim Benzema & Samir Nasri

Manchester United target Karim Benzema may not have had the best seasons since joining Real Madrid but for me, he is the by far the best striker France have to call on and that includes Thierry Henry. Benzema has had a torrid time at the Bernabeu since arriving last summer but he is not the first and won’t be the last good player to struggle with the Spanish giants. He has scored just 8 goals in 26 league games but more importantly he has only started fourteen of those games. In fact of those starts, he has been subbed off in ten of them, so it’s no wonder he has struggled to find any rhythm. In his previous two seasons in France he scored 37 league goals and the fact Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is still chasing him suggests he is still a player highly rated by the top managers in football.

If France coach Raymond Domenech is picking his team on form this season then I am not sure how Thierry Henry is in after playing less league games than Benzema. He has scored only four goals in 20 league games (15 starts) and has looked a shadow of the player that will always be a legend to Arsenal fans. Djibril Cisse is in after scoring 23 goals in Greece which is not the best of standards. Toulouse’s Andre- Pierre Gignac only netted 8 league goals in France despite playing 30 games and starting 29 of them. There’s also Rennes Jimmy Briand who scored five goals in 22 league games. For Manchester United target Benzema to be ignored for this provisional squad by Domenech is just plain nuts.

The omission of Arsenal midfielder Samir Nasri is another decision I cannot get my head round. In fact Domenech must be appearing in ‘one flew over the cuckoo’s nest 2′ with the decisions he is making. Nasri has been one of the Gunners better players this season and to be fair to him, he stepped up to the plate when Cesc Fabregas was injured as the team’s playmaker. For him to be ignored with players like Yoann Gourcuff, Mathieu Valbuena and Sidney Govou in the squad beggars belief.

Domenech does not cease to amaze me, he must be one of the luckiest managers in world football as he somehow manages to keep his job despite numerous failures. The man is simply off his tree and his choices in this squad only highlight that. Saying that, he is right to leave out Manchester City midfielder Patrick Vieira as the former Arsenal captain just doesn’t have the legs anymore. In his prime, Vieira was superb but those days are well and truly gone as he just can’t get around the pitch like he used to.