It was always going to be difficult for France manager Didier Deschamps to select just 23 players to take to the World Cup.

The current generation of French players is incredible. So much so that Anthony Martial and Alexandre Lacazette are just some of the players excluded from the squad.

Many believe Les Bleus can go all the way in Russia and it’s not hard to understand why.

France have depth in every area, although it’s in midfield and attack where the talent really stands out.

Paul Pogba, N’Golo Kante, Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele… that’s a seriously impressive list of players.

One man who won’t be heading to Russia, though, is Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Adrien Rabiot.

The 23-year-old was a surprise omission from the squad, with Sevilla’s Steven N'Zonzi called up instead.

Rabiot is fuming

Unsurprisingly, Rabiot isn’t at all pleased.

He’s reacted to being left at home in a very childish manner, according to French media outlet Le Parisien.

They claim that Rabiot has written a letter to the French Football Federation indicating his refusal to be among the reserve list for the World Cup.

The PSG midfielder, like Lacazette, Martial and Kingsley Coman, is on standby should any player suffer an injury.

But apparently he wants no part of it.

It’s pretty unbelievable that a player would deny themselves a chance of appearing at a World Cup but Rabiot clearly feels he deserved to be in the 23-man line-up.

Yet his actions won’t stand him in good stead with the FFF for future squad announcements.

Blaise Matuidi and Corentin Tolisso are the other midfielders called up and ESPN explained just why Rabiot might have been left out.

“[Deschamps] had his reasons,” they wrote. “Rabiot has never been as good for the national team as for PSG, and Deschamps lost patience quickly.”

For any France fan hoping this setback will kick Rabiot into gear, the early signs aren’t positive.

Still, they will head to Russia brimming with confidence that they can become world champions for the first time in 20 years.

France have every right to be among the favourites, even without Rabiot.