France centre-back William Saliba is not expected to be involved in Thursday’s friendly against Ivory Coast at the Stade de la Beaujoire in Nantes.
The 25-year-old has emerged as a **major doubt for the 2026 World Cup**after aggravating a back injury during Arsenal’s Champions League final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain last weekend.
At the time of writing, the rest of Didier Deschamps’s 26-man squad should be fit and available for selection, though PSG quintet Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue, Bradley Barcola, Warren Zaire-Emery and Lucas Hernandez may be given a rest due to their involvement in the UCL final.
Real Madrid-bound Ibrahima Konate could step in for Saliba and start at centre-back alongside Dayot Upamecano. Joules Kounde and Malo Gusto will battle for the right-back berth, while Lucas Digne and Theo Hernandez are set to compete for a start at left-back.
Mike Maignan will be France’s first-choice goalkeeper at the World Cup, though it remains to be seen whether he will start between the sticks on Thursday, with Brice Samba and uncapped Robin Risser also at Deschamps’s disposal.
N’Golo Kante, 35, is the oldest member of France’s squad and he is a contender to link up with Aurelien Tchouameni, Adrien Rabiot or Manu Kone in centre-midfield.
Manchester City playmaker Rayan Cherki could operate in the number 10 role should Deschamps select a 4-2-3-1 formation, while Michael Olise and captain Kylian Mbappe may operate out wide.
Mbappe, who is just one goal away from equalling Olivier Giroud’s all-time scoring record for France (57), is also an option to start up front, as is Marcus Thuram and Jean-Philippe Mateta, who has scored two goals in just three international caps for Les Bleus.
France possible starting lineup:
Maignan; Kounde, Konate, Upamecano, Digne; Kante, Tchouameni; Olise, Cherki, Mbappe; Thuram