Tchouameni ruled out for France-Paraguay World Cup round of 16

Aurélien Tchouameni has been ruled out of the World Cup round of 16 between France and Paraguay on Saturday after feeling discomfort in his thigh during Friday’s final training session. The Real Madrid midfielder, who was expected to start in midfield, will miss this crucial fixture.

The injury is not believed to be serious: his unavailability is estimated at four days, which would give him the possibility of returning for a potential quarter-final. If France qualify, Les Bleus would face the winner of Morocco-Canada next Thursday in Boston.

To compensate for his absence, Didier Deschamps is expected to use the formula that worked in the group stage match against Iraq, when Tchouameni also had to be ruled out: Manu Koné would take his place in midfield alongside Adrien Rabiot. The rest of the lineup would remain unchanged, with Lucas Digne and Bradley Barcola on the right flank — choices that appear to have won out over Théo Hernandez and Désiré Doué, even though the latter was named to replace Kylian Mbappé at the pre-match press conference.

France’s probable lineup against Paraguay: Maignan — Koundé, Upamecano, Saliba, Digne — Koné, Rabiot — Dembélé, Olise, Barcola — Mbappé.