Fofana set to start from France in the Euro 2024 opener; Saliba benched

AS Monaco midfielder Youssouf Fofana is in line for a surprise start in France’s Euro 2024 opener against Austria in Düsseldorf on Sunday. 

France already have a headache about who will complete the midfield setup, as there are question marks surrounding Les Bleus’ midfield heading into the tournament in Germany.

According to the French media, France will be without Real Madrid’s Aurélien Tchouaméni after suffering an injury back at the start of May and is yet to recover. 

Although he is nearing a return, France’s technical staff are anticipating a physically intense encounter against Austria, and they doubt Tchouaméni’s preparedness to compete in such a match, given his lengthy absence. N’Golo Kanté is expected to start in his place. 

France may also be without Adrien Rabiot for the opener. The Juventus midfielder has also not featured in any of France’s preparation matches after suffering from muscle fatigue. As a result, he could also miss out on 25-year-old Fofana, the favourite to take his place. Antoine Griezmann is expected to complete the midfield.

In a related development, Didier Deschamps won’t end the partnership of Bayern Munich’s Dayot Upamecano and Liverpool’s Ibrahima Konaté in France’s backline.

Thus, Arsenal’s William Saliba, who got a rare chance to impress at the heart of the France defense in Sunday’s Euro 2024 preparation match against Canada, won’t be in the starting lineup for Les Bleus. 

Although impressive with his game performance, Le Parisien understands that more is needed to dislodge the current pairing. 

Having tested several pairings since Raphaël Varane’s retirement at the international level, Didier Deschamps seems to have settled on Upamecano and Konaté.

Although he formed a good partnership with Upamecano in Les Bleus’ final game before Euro 2024 and kept a clean sheet, France also failed to score as the match ended in a goalless draw.

This follows Deschamps’ statement on Arsenal’s center-back, who he said showed “lots of stability” in defense; Le Parisien understands that he won’t start against Austria in France’s Euro 2024 opener on Sunday. 

Instead, the Arsenal man will be dropped in favour of reverting to the Konaté-Upamecano partnership. He, therefore, starts the upcoming tournament as the third-choice center-back for Les Bleus.