Soccer: Anelka snubbed by France

On-loan Liverpool striker Nicolas Anelka has been left out of Roger Lemerre’s France squad to face Romania next week.

Anelka, hoping to secure a place in the French World Cup squad this summer, has struggled to make an impact at Anfield since joining the Reds from Paris St Germain until the end of the season.

Kaiserslautern midfielder Youri Djorkaeff is also omitted from the squad for next Wednesday’s match as speculation mounts over his future in Germany.

Manchester United goalkeeper Fabien Barthez has been selected, along with his Old Trafford team-mate Mikael Silvestre.

Chelsea duo Marcus Desailly and Emmanuel Petit are in along with Arsenal quartet Robert Pires, Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry and Sylvain Wiltord.

Squad: F Barthez (Man Utd), U Rame (Bordeaux), V Candela (Roma), P Christanval (Barcelona), M Desailly (Chelsea), W Sagnol (Bayern Munich), M Silvestre (Man Utd), L Thuram (Juventus), A Boghossian (Parma), E Carriere (Lyon), C Makelele (Real Madrid), E Petit (Chelsea), R Pires (Arsenal), P Vieira (Arsenal), Z Zidane (Real Madrid), C Dugarry (Bordeaux), T Henry (Arsenal), D Trezeguet (Juventus), S Wiltord (Arsenal).