Dembélé to start against Northern Ireland in final World Cup warm-up

Ousmane Dembélé will return to the starting lineup Monday evening when France face Northern Ireland at Lille, in the Bleus’ final warm-up match before the 2026 World Cup. Didier Deschamps confirmed it publicly: the manager intends to field a team close to the one that will start against Senegal on June 16 in New York.

The PSG winger had been rested last Thursday in Nantes against Ivory Coast (2-1 defeat), just days after his club’s Ligue des Champions final victory over Arsenal. A rotation of playing time acknowledged by Deschamps, who also left Désiré Doué and William Saliba on the bench, while Lucas Hernandez (67th), Warren Zaïre-Emery (78th) and Bradley Barcola (89th) only came on during the match.

On William Saliba’s fitness, whose back is a concern, Deschamps sought to reassure: “Is he doing well? Yes. We’re managing it. It’s something he’s had for several weeks, but it hasn’t prevented him from playing.” The Arsenal defender remains in the manager’s plans less than three weeks before the World Cup kicks off.

The match against Northern Ireland will thus be the final full dress rehearsal before France get down to business in the United States.