France's Kone in for injured Tchouameni for Paraguay World Cup clash
Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup 2026 - Round of 16 - Paraguay v France - Philadelphia Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. - July 4, 2026 France's Manu Kone arrives at the stadium before the match REUTERS/Jeenah Moon
PHILADELPHIA, July 4 : France coach Didier Deschamps made one change to the team who beat Sweden 3-0 in the previous round, bringing Manu Kone into midfield in place of the injured Aurelien Tchouameni for Saturday’s World Cup last-16 clash against Paraguay.
• Tchouameni is out with a muscle problem, assistant coach Guy Stephan said.
• "He has a slight muscle issue in the adductor area, although it is a somewhat broader area. He picked it up in training and will receive treatment and a few days’ rest. It is difficult to say today (Saturday) how long that will be, but we all hope it will not be for long," Stephan said.
• "A return for the quarter-finals? It is possible. But time is also against us, with a potential match in five days."
• Kone will be paired with Adrien Rabiot behind France's four-pronged attack.
• Paraguay line up in a likely 5-4-1 ultra-defensive formation.
• Winners face Morocco in Boston on July 9.
Teams:
Paraguay - Orlando Gill; Juan Jose Caceres, Gustavo Gomez (captain), Gustavo Velazquez, Omar Alderete, Junior Alonso; Miguel Almiron, Diego Gomez, Andres Cubas, Matias Galarza; Julio Enciso
France - Mike Maignan; Jules Kounde, Dayot Upamecano, William Saliba, Lucas Digne; Manu Kone, Adrien Rabiot; Ousmane Dembele, Michael Olise, Bradley Barcola; Kylian Mbappe (captain)
(Writing by Julien Pretot in New York; Editing by Ken Ferris aznd Toby Davis)
