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Francevs.Germany

sportsmole.co.uk, 21 March 2024, 12:00
France and Atletico Madrid attacker Antoine Griezmann will play no part in his country's first fixture of the year, which comes against Germany in a friendly battle on Saturday evening.

The 33-year-old has appeared in each of France's last 84 matches across all competitions, but that record-breaking streak will not become 85 this weekend, as he has been forced to pull out with an ankle problem.

Fellow attacker Kingsley Coman is also out with a knee injury but was not called up anyway, meaning that Didier Deschamps is otherwise working with all of the troops he originally included for this month's fixtures.

Every single player in the France setup has already made at least one appearance for their country, including goalkeepers Brice Samba and Alphonse Areola, but Mike Maignan should still get the nod here.

Owing to Ibrahima Konate's hamstring issue, Dayot Upamecano and Benjamin Pavard are in line to pair up in defence as William Saliba waits his turn, most likely with Jonathan Clauss and Theo Hernandez either side of them.

Due to Griezmann's absence, Deschamps may consider a slight tactical tweak to a 4-3-3 setup, allowing Adrien Rabiot, Eduardo Camavinga and Aurelien Tchouameni to link arms in the middle of the park, although 18-year-old Warren Zaire-Emery is a viable alternative.

Paris Saint-Germain teammates Ousmane Dembele and Kylian Mbappe are mainstays in the final third, as is Olivier Giroud, who seeks to build on his all-time men's record of 56 goals for Les Bleus.

France possible starting lineup:

Maignan; Clauss, Pavard, Upamecano, T. Hernandez; Rabiot, Tchouameni, Camavinga; Dembele, Giroud, Mbappe

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