PARIS, May 14 (Xinhua) -- France coach Raymond Domenech said on Sunday that Fabien Barthez will be France's first choice goalkeeper at next month's World Cup finals in Germany.

    Domenech, who announced his 23-strong squad on Sunday, selected the 77-times capped Barthez, a veteran of the 1998 World Cup winning side, ahead of Lyon's Gregory Coupet for the position.

    Domenech mainly went for experience when selecting his squad, but Barcelona winger Ludovic Giuly, Arsenal's Robert Pires and striker Nicolas Anelka of Fenerbache failed to be included in the squad.

    But Domenech still retained the core of the side he used to qualify for the finals anchored around World Cup winners Barthez, Zinedine Zidane, Lilian Thuram and Thierry Henry.

    "I know the weight of this responsibility, it was not easy,"said Domenech on French television."Nights and nights of doubt and insomnia. This list will not please everybody."

    While attaching importance to experience, Domenech also called up two uncapped players - Wigan defender Pascal Chimbonda and Marseille midfielder Franck Ribery.

    Chimbonda was named the English Premiership's right-back of theyear after moving to Wigan of England and Ribery has been outstanding at Marseille being named the French league's Young Player of the Year. Enditem