New York, June 30 (IANS) France head coach Didier Deschamps has said that injured striker Marcus Thuram will be unavailable for the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 match against Sweden due to a muscle issue.

After waiting almost a century to meet at a World Cup, France and Sweden will finally meet on football’s grandest stage on Wednesday at the New Jersey Stadium with Round of 16 berth at stake..

While Deschamps expressed uncertainty regarding his midfielder N’Golo Kante, he offered reassurance regarding William Saliba, who has been struggling with a back problem for several weeks.

“Marcus won’t be available tomorrow. He has a minor muscle issue, nothing serious, but he won’t be fit in time. As for N’Golo (Kanté), it’s not muscular, but he’s just not quite ready physically; we’ll assess him before the match. William, on the other hand, is doing well.

“A medical protocol is in place, and we’re adapting his training to manage his fitness. Even if he’s not at 100%, he’s at 99%, and that’s more than enough for the matches. Resting him in the third match was important. He knows how to manage this problem; it doesn’t prevent him from playing with complete freedom.”

Deschamps said his team will not tone down its attacking style against Sweden and praised captain Kylian Mbappe for both his work ethic and leadership.

“We scored 10 goals in the group stage and we could have scored more. We have a capacity for danger, and I want us to keep it,” said Deschamps, who had briefly left the squad to travel back to France for his mother’s funeral.

“Kylian defends. He knows how to defend. Perhaps not as much as the others, but he scores more goals than the others too. Yes, he’s on a mission, but I’ve been telling you that since day one. The physical work we’ve had to do isn’t really for strikers. He was the first to lead by example.

“Beyond Kylian’s quality and his ability to score goals, he fully embraces his role as captain. The image people might have of him from the outside doesn’t always – or very often – match who he really is,” he added.

Turning to his personal situation, the coach said being back at work has helped him cope with his loss. “As far as I’m concerned, I’m fine – I’m here,” he said. “It’s been good to keep my mind occupied since Friday evening when I arrived. I’ve resumed my duties, and everything went well for France and the coaching staff throughout this third match.”

“As for me, it was obviously very tough. For my own sake and for the sake of France, I had to leave. They did the right thing. We’re now preparing for the second phase of the tournament, which is about to begin.”

Midfielder Adrien Rabiot acknowledged the emotional impact on the squad when Deschamps first revealed the news of his mother’s death.

“It’s true that it was quite difficult when he told us about his mum’s death and that he had to leave us. Obviously, it came as a shock,” Rabiot said. “Of course, he had complete faith in us. I think we did the job as well as we possibly could.”

“We’re glad to have him back. I don’t think it’s easy having to grieve under those circumstances. That’s football for you. The World Cup just happened to be on at that time. I think he’s come back keen to do well, to go as far as possible in the tournament. It’s something that will help him take his mind off it all a bit, which will do him good,” he added.

–IANS

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