Zidane will have to build his France squad without Saliba or Lacroix

Head coach Zinédine Zidane names his squad on Friday for the last two group-stage games of the Nations League, and several injuries complicate his choice. According to Foot Mercato, the situation is reminiscent of September, when William Saliba and Aurélien Tchouameni missed the get-together, followed by Ibrahima Konaté, who was replaced by Leny Yoro.

A central defence to rebuild

William Saliba remains out for several weeks. Maxence Lacroix has a torn hamstring and may not play again before the end of the year. According to the site, three places look secure, for Dayot Upamecano, Jérémy Jacquet and Ibrahima Konaté. For the last one, Leny Yoro, Lucas Hernandez and Wesley Fofana are named as candidates.

On the right, Jules Koundé is doubtful after an ankle sprain that made him miss two big Barça games. Pierre Kalulu could therefore be recalled. Benjamin Pavard is injured and Malo Gusto is not playing at Chelsea. Foot Mercato also judges that Jonathan Clauss, 34, hardly fits Zidane's criteria, as he wants to prepare for the future.

Few surprises in midfield, uncertainty up front

Manu Koné is not expected to have recovered from his thigh injury. Tchouameni, Warren Zaïre-Emery and Adrien Rabiot, who scored on Saturday for AC Milan in the derby against Inter, should on the other hand return. Eduardo Camavinga and Lucas Da Cunha should be kept in, and Rayan Cherki was already used in that area last month.

In attack, Ousmane Dembélé is out. Michael Olise is doubtful after going off injured against Dortmund, and Estéban Lepaul has a problem with his left ankle. Marcus Thuram, in good form with Inter Milan, is a possible option, according to Téléfoot. Éli-Junior Kroupi could still have to wait despite an assist in 22 minutes against Leeds.

What these games will decide

According to Football.fr, Les Bleus face Italy in Milan and Turkey in Bordeaux, on 12 and 15 November. These results will set the Nations League quarter-finals and the pots for the Euro 2028 draw, scheduled for 6 December in Belfast.

France will be one of the twelve top seeds. They will thus avoid Spain, England, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Italy and, in all likelihood, Norway. Pot 2 can still offer a tough opponent, such as Switzerland, Sweden, Austria, the Czech Republic, Wales or Turkey. Pot 3 has seven Euro 2024 participants: Ukraine, Scotland, Poland, Georgia, Romania, Slovakia and Albania.

They will need to finish in the top two of their group to qualify for the finals, which will be played from 9 June to 9 July 2028. Nine stadiums have already been selected, including Wembley, Villa Park, Hampden Park and the Aviva Stadium.