Coach Andrea Giani has rested the executives of the French volleyball team, with a view to future deadlines, to begin the defense of the title in the Volleyball Nations League, from June 7 to 11 in Nagoya (Japan), a announced Thursday the French Federation (FFVB).

The Italian, at the head of the reigning Olympic champions since the summer of 2022, has thus deprived himself of the receivers-attackers Earvin Ngapeth, Trévor Clévenot and Yacine Louati, of the passers Benjamin Toniutti and Antoine Brizard, of the libero Jenia Grebennikov, of the sharp Stephen Boyer and Jean Patry as well as centrals Barthélémy Chinenyeze and Nicolas Le Goff.

“The experience of last season shows that it is important that the executives of the team have enough rest time after their club season, knowing that the main objective of the summer is the European Championship ( August 30-September 16 in Israel, Bulgaria and Italy)” Giani said in a statement from the FFVB.

Apart from Ibrahim Lawani (21 years old, Taranto), great hope for the post of sharp package for the whole of the League of Nations due to a foot injury, the Blues should be complete for the second week of the first round, in Orleans (June 21-25).

The first round will end for the Blues in Annaheim (USA) from July 4 to 9.

The first seven all pools combined at the end of these three weeks will qualify for the final phase of the League of Nations, from July 19 to 23 in Gdansk (Poland), of which France is the title holder.

Toniutti, Ngapeth or Le Goff could once again be spared in Orleans because they “need more rest to recover or treat small physical glitches” according to Giani.

The Italian has retained a group of 14 players for Nagoya with only four survivors of the 2022 World Cup (Diez, Kévin Tillie, Jouddroy and Henry).

It has only one sharp (Théo Faure) and is led by Chaumont passer Raphaël Corre, captain in the absence of Toniutti.

“We are going to give young people the opportunity to express themselves, especially at the start of this VNL (League of Nations) (…) the idea is to prepare for the future, because these young people are called upon to take over from 2025, we must prepare this new generation,” commented Giani.

The group of 14 selected for the first week, in Nagoya

Liberos: Luca Ramon (Narbonne), Benjamin Diez (Tours)

Setters: Raphaël Corre (Cap. in Nagoya, Chaumont), Kellian Motta Paes (Paris)

Sharp: Theo Faure (Montpellier)

Receiver-attackers: Kévin Tillie (Warsaw, POL), Antoine Pothron (Toulouse), Luka Basic (Piacenza, ITA), Timothée Carle (Berlin, GER), Hilir Henno (UC Irvine, USA)

Centrals: Quentin Jouffroy (Narbonne), Simon Roehrig (Tourcoing), Daryl Bultor (Tourcoing), Médéric Henry (Le Plessis-Robinson)

The program of France in Nagoya (in French hours)

June 7

(11h00) Poland – France

June 9

(06h10) China – France

June 10

(05h40) France – Slovenia

June 11

(12:10 p.m.) Japan – France

June 21-25: second week, in Orléans

July 4-9: third week, in Annahein (USA)

19-23 July: possible final phase, in Gdansk (Poland)