Paul Pogba is not yet fully recovered. Absent from training for the Blues on Sunday at Clairefontaine, the Manchester United midfielder was also not present for that of Monday March 28, at the Pierre-Mauroy stadium in Lille. The players of the France team arrived this morning in the North and trained at the end of the afternoon on the lawn of the stadium which they will find for the first time since the France-Switzerland of Euro 2016 .
21 players, including the three goalkeepers, were therefore present in the gray Lille and will be available tomorrow for the second friendly match of this March meeting, against South Africa. Didier Deschamps could however do without Pogba, victim of a contusion in the left foot, but also Aurélien Tchouaméni, very good against Côte d’Ivoire on Friday (2-1).
Let’s go for the training before the match of the Blues at the Pierre-Mauroy stadium. Pogba, hit in the left foot, and Tchouaméni, feverish, are at the edge of the lawn but do not train. Their presence for tomorrow is still uncertain. #FRAAFS pic.twitter.com/KGAD1s2K46
— Denis Menetrier (@DMenetrier) March 28, 2022
“Two players will not take part in the session: Aurélien, who has been in a feverish state since last night, and Paul because he received a kick in the last match”, explained Didier Deschamps at a press conference on Monday. Both players watched the session from the edge of the pitch but did not train. The coach clarified that their presence against South Africa will be determined tomorrow during the day.
While the Blues trained fifteen minutes in front of the press before carrying out a tactical implementation of 10 against 10 behind closed doors on the lawn of the Pierre-Mauroy stadium, two certainties exist concerning the starting lineup which will be aligned tomorrow . Raphaël Varane, present at a press conference on Monday, will wear the captain’s armband for the 18th time in the French team, in place of Hugo Lloris.
The Tottenham keeper will be replaced in goal by Mike Maignan, as confirmed by Deschamps. The AC Milan goalkeeper will live his second selection in a Pierre-Mauroy stadium which will be sold out, filled with nearly 50,000 people, under the eyes of the public who saw him explode at the highest level with the LOSC.
The stadium will be sold out tomorrow!
at 9:15 p.m. on TF1 #FRAAFS #ProudToBeBlues pic.twitter.com/Cvnp0slEZY
— French team ⭐⭐ (@equipedefrance) March 28, 2022
As for the rest of the eleven, Deschamps should call on N’Golo Kanté, who returned to Clairefontaine yesterday after a round trip to Mali for family reasons. The Chelsea midfielder could be a starter, just like Kylian Mbappé. The Parsiein striker trained normally after his ENT infection last weekend, while second place in midfield should be played between Mattéo Guendouzi and Adrien Rabiot (or Pogba).
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The players of the France team were able to greet their former teammate Mathieu Debuchy (27 selections), who came to attend the session with his children. Very close to the Valenciennes player after their time at Arsenal, Olivier Giroud took the opportunity to chat with him for a few moments. The second top scorer in the history of the France team should start the game on the bench tomorrow.
The probable composition of the France team: Maignan – Saliba, Varane (cap.), Kimpembe – Clauss, Kanté, Rabiot, Digne – Griezmann, Mbappé, Giroud (or Diaby, or Ben Yedder)