William Saliba plays in final friendly, on target for France's World Cup opener

William Saliba was deemed fit ahead of France's final friendly before the World Cup and would be set for full participation in the Group I opener June 16 against Senegal barring setbacks with his ailing back.

Saliba, 25, had scans on his back last week to determine whether discomfort he flagged was potentially a more serious injury.

Manager Didier Deschamps downplayed the severity of the injury last week but Saliba's participation was limited entering Monday's friendly in Lille against Northern Ireland. However, Deschamps made good on his word to be cautious, and held Saliba out to start the second half on Monday, using Maxence Lacroix in his spot.

Saliba said earlier this week treatment alleviated pain that came about during the full 120 minutes he played in Arsenal's Champions League loss to Paris Saint-Germain on May 30. He helped Arsenal win their first Premier League title in 22 years while appearing in 50 of 63 matches across all competitions.

"William is fine and will be managed," Deschamps said last week. "If he had needed to play tomorrow, he would have played."

Saliba arrived at France's training camp on June 2 along with five players from PSG: Bradley Barcola, Lucas Hernandez, Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue and Warren Zaire-Emery. After Monday's friendly, France travels to the United States and begins training for the World Cup opener. After the Senegal opener next Tuesday, France has group-play matches against Iraq on June 22 and Norway on June 26.

Saliba, who has 31 caps since making his senior debut for France in 2022, injured his back in May and reportedly aggravated it in the loss to PSG.

If healthy, Saliba is a sure starter for Deschamps alongside Bayern Munich's Dayot Upamecano.

The other defenders on France's 26-man roster are Lucas Digne, Malo Gusto, Theo Hernandez, Ibrahima Konate, Jules Kounde and Maxence Lacroix.

World Cup teams have until 24 hours before their first match to replace a player on their roster due to serious injury or illness. Any changes are subject to FIFA approval.

--Field Level Media