Henry and Vieira set for France return

PARIS: Striker Thierry Henry and midfielder Patrick Vieira will return to France duty for an international football friendly against Slovakia on August 22, coach Raymond Domenech confirmed on Thursday.   

The duo were named by Domenech along with David Trezeguet and Philippe Mexes in a 34-man squad which also includes players who will compete in a B-team friendly against the Slovaks on August 21.   

Hit by injuries, France's top scorer Henry (leg) and captain Vieira (hamstring) last played in a 1-0 friendly loss to Argentina on February 7 at Stade de France.   

Since then Henry has transferred to Barcelona where he completed all his pre-season training and Vieira has also returned to training at Inter Milan.   

The return of Trezeguet and Mexes comes as a surprise, however.

Juventus striker Trezeguet has not featured since the Argentina match and Roma defender Mexes, has been overlooked for the last two Euro 2008 qualifiers against the Ukraine (2-0) and Georgia (1-0).   

Both have been very vocal over the past week in the criticism of Domenech for his allegations of match-fixing in Italian football.       

Squad   

Goalkeepers: Mickael Landreau (Paris SG), Sebastien Frey (Fiorentina/ITA), Ulrich Rame (Bordeaux), Teddy Richert (Sochaux)   

Defenders: Eric Abidal (FC Barcelone/ESP), Jean-Alain Boumsong (Juventus/ITA), Francois Clerc (Lyon), Patrice Evra (Manchester United/ENG), William Gallas (Arsenal/ENG), Bakary Sagna (Arsenal/ENG), Sebastien Squillaci (Lyon), Lilian Thuram (FC Barcelona/ESP), Gael Givet (Marseille), Philippe Mexes (AS Rome/ITA), Anthony Reveillere (Lyon), Jonathan Zebina (Juventus/ITA)    

Midfielders: Abou Diaby (Arsenal/ENG), Alou Diarra (Bordeaux), Lassana Diarra (Chelsea/ENG), Claude Makelele (Chelsea/ENG), Rio Mavuba (Villarreal/ESP), Samir Nasri (Marseille), Jeremy Toulalan (Lyon), Jerome Rothen (Paris SG), Patrick Vieira (Inter Milan/ITA)   

Strikers: Nicolas Anelka (Bolton/ENG), Karim Benzema (Lyon), Jimmy Briand (Rennes), Djibril Cisse (Marseille), Thierry Henry (FC Barcelona/ESP), Florent Malouda (Chelsea/ENG), Frederic Piquionne (Monaco), Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich/GER), David Trezeguet (Juventus Turin/ITA)