Strongly anticipated on Sunday evening, at the time of his premature exit during Granada-FC Barcelona (2-2), Jules Koundé’s withdrawal for the gathering of the France team was confirmed on Monday.
In the space of just a few hours, the French team lost two elements. This Sunday, the first bad news came from London. In the wake of the shock of the eighth day of the Premier League won by his Arsenal team against Manchester City (1-0), William Saliba announced his withdrawal from the gathering of the France team. A few hours later, it was Jules Koundé who seriously worried, forced to leave just before the break in the match between Granada and FC Barcelona (2-2). This Monday, his package was confirmed by the Blues staff.
For William Saliba, it is chronic pain in his right big toe. The French central defender was immediately replaced numerically by Jean-Clair Todibo. Concerning Jules Koundé, it is the left knee which is affected. A slight sprain was thus mentioned. To replace him, Didier Deschamps this time called on Axel Disasi. The Chelsea defender will perhaps have the opportunity to get minutes of play against him. He will have two opportunities to do this since the Blues face the Netherlands on October 13, in the Euro 2024 qualifiers, before playing their last match in 2023, with a friendly scheduled for October 17 against Scotland.
Who on the right?
A question now arises: who will Didier Deschamps line up in the right tricolor corridor? If Benjamin Pavard was called up, he was this time as a central defender. Little chance of seeing him once again play the usefulness on the right. The most likely choice should be Jonathan Clauss, back in the group after being left aside by the French coach during the last meetings. Axel Disasi, whose experience on the right had been catastrophic, during the 2022 World Cup match lost against Tunisia (1-0), could possibly be a solution. It’s up to Didier Deschamps to make the best choice.
