Fabien Barthez
Made his debut for France on May 26, 1994, against Australia, aged 23. Currently playing for Olympique Marseille, Barthez has 77 France caps (as at March 1, 2006).
Date of birth: June 28, 1971
Height: 1.83m (6ft)
Fact: Barthez's impressive displays between the goalposts in the 1998 World Cup won him the Lev Yashin Award as the tournament's best goalkeeper; however, he temporarily lost his place in the France squad in 2005 after receiving a six-month ban for spitting at a referee during a friendly game for Marseille.

Grégory Coupet
Made his debut for France in June 2001, against Australia, aged 28. Currently playing for Olympique Lyonnais, Coupet has 18 France caps (as at March 1, 2006).
Date of birth: December 31, 1972
Height: 1.81m (5ft 11in)
Fact: Battling with Barthez to be France's first-choice goalkeeper, Coupet's form has been particularly impressive in recent seasons and he received the French Ligue 1's Goalkeeper of the Season Award in 2004 and 2005.

Mickaël Landreau
Made his debut for France in June 2001, against Mexico, aged 22. Currently playing for FC Nantes, Landreau has 3 France caps (as at March 1, 2006).
Date of birth: May 14, 1979
Height: 1.83m (6ft)
Fact: Landreau has spent his entire professional career at FC Nantes, and has been the club's first-choice goalkeeper since 1996; winning the French Cup in 1999 and 2000, and the French League in 2001.

Defenders

Éric Abidal
Made his debut for France in August 2004, against Bosnia, aged 25. Currently playing for Olympique Lyonnais, Abidal has 5 France caps and has scored 0 goals for his country (as at March 1, 2006).
Date of birth: July 11, 1979
Height: 1.80m (5ft 10in)
Fact: Abidal's chances of being part of France's World Cup squad suffered a blow when he broke his foot playing for his country in a friendly match against Costa Rica in November 2005

Willy Sagnol
Made his debut for France on November 15, 2000, against Turkey, aged 23. Currently playing for Bayern Munich, Sagnol has 35 France caps and has scored 0 goals for his country (as at March 1, 2006).
Date of birth: March 18, 1977
Height: 1.80m (5ft 10in)
Fact: Sagnol's career highlights include winning the league championship in two different countries in successive years: in France in 2000 with AC Monaco and in Germany with Bayern Munich in 2001.

William Gallas
Made his debut for France on October 2, 2002, against Slovenia, aged 25. Currently playing for Chelsea, Gallas has 37 France caps and has scored 1 goal for his country (as at March 1, 2006).
Date of birth: August 17, 1977
Height: 1.81m (5ft 11in)
Fact: Gallas and international team mate Thierry Henry were born on the same day.

Mikael Silvestre
Made his debut for France on February 27, 2001, against Germany, aged 23. Currently playing for Manchester United, Silvestre has 37 France caps and has scored 2 goals for his country (as at March 1, 2006).
Date of birth: August 9, 1977
Height: 1.84m (6ft 0in)
Fact: Silvestre is hoping to get the chance in Germany to avenge his less than impressive performances at the 2002 World Cup, when he gave away penalties in France's group matches against England and Croatia.

Jean-Alain Boumsong
Made his debut for France on June 20, 2003, against Japan, aged 23. Currently playing for Newcastle United, Boumsong has 18 France caps and has scored 1 goal for his country (as at March 1, 2006).
Date of birth: December 14, 1979
Height: 1.90m (6ft 2in)
Fact: Boumsong's father played football for Cameroon at senior level.

Pascal Chimbonda
Currently playing for Wigan Athletic, Chimbonda is yet to make his international debut (as at March 1, 2006).
Date of birth: February 21, 1979
Height: 1.82m (5ft 11in)
Fact: Chimbonda, who was born in the French overseas department of Guadeloupe, has never represented his country at Youth or U21 level; he was named in the PFA Premiership Team of the Year in 2006 after an impressive season with Wigan Athletic.

Gael Givet
Made his debut for France in August 2004, against Bosnia, aged 22. Currently playing for AC Monaco, Givet has 11 France caps and has scored 0 goals for his country (as at March 1, 2006).
Date of birth: October 9, 1981
Height: 1.80m (5ft 10in)
Fact: Givet's first taste of international glory was winning the European Championships in 2000 with the France U18 team.

Lilian Thuram
Made his debut for France on August 17, 1994, against the Czech Republic, aged 22. Currently playing for Juventus, Thuram has 111 France caps and has scored 2 goals for his country (as at March 1, 2006).
Date of birth: January 1, 1972
Height: 1.82m (6ft 0in)
Fact: Thuram's only international goals were both scored in the same game—the semi-final of the World Cup in 1998, against Croatia.