France legend and former World Cup winner Patrick Vieira has labelled national coach Didier Deschamps’ decision to exclude Samir Nasri from the upcoming tournament as poor, and believes that the Manchester City midfielder would have given Les Bleus a better chance of going further had he been selected.
Vieira, who won the competition on home soil in 1998 against this year’s hosts, told Goal: “The way he has grown up is his influence on the group and the team.”
“He is a positive lad, he has been working really hard and he is taking more responsibility on his shoulders.”
Deschamps decided against picking the former Arsenal playmaker, even suggesting at one point that the best 23 players don’t necessarily make the best squad.
The French will be playing in Group E of the tournament, alongside fellow Europeans Switzerland, as well as Honduras and Ecuador.
