Anelka against enlarged squad

Domenech announced at the weekend that he will be selecting his initial group for the Euros on May 18, before trimming it down to 23 players towards the end of the month when all the domestic and European club competitions have finished.

Former Les Bleus coach Aime Jacquet adopted the same approach prior to the 1998 World Cup, and Anelka was one of six players to be given the axe just before the tournament.

The Chelsea striker would not wish the same fate on somebody else, especially those who have not got too many more major international tournaments to look forward to.

"I have experienced being in that list of six," Anelka told French radio station RMC.

"I don't think it is a good idea because it makes it worse for players.

"At the time, I was 19 or 20 so it was okay for me. But for those who had never taken part in a World Cup, it really hurt them.

"It is hard for people to recover from being dropped like that.

"The best solution would be to take 23 players and say that if there are injuries, such and such a player will come into the 23."

Domenech claims he wants to name an enlarged squad "to keep as many players as I can under pressure for as long as possible".

He is also worried about late injury setbacks, with a number of cup finals - such as the Champions League final, the Coupe de France final and the Coppa Italia final - taking place after May 18.

Anelka is all but assured of being in Domenech's final 23-man squad.

France are in Group C at the Euros, along with Romania, Holland and Italy.

Les Bleus' opening game at the tournament is against Romania on June 9.