Unexpected departure of Upamecano and uncertainty for the Blues

On the evening of the 3‑1 defeat inflicted on the French side at San Siro, the atmosphere remains heavy within the French squad, where the November gathering continues to cause problems for Zinedine Zidane and his staff, who now have to manage the unexpected departure of Dayot Upamecano, a defensive pillar.

The day after the match in Italy, the Blues notice a new departure within their ranks in the Nations League.

Dayot Upamecano officially left the squad this Friday for “personal reasons”, with the agreement of manager Zinedine Zidane.

The 28‑year‑old centre‑back immediately joined Munich, where he plays for Bayern, and will not be numerically replaced before the hosting of Turkey on Sunday evening in Bordeaux.

This departure comes after an especially trying evening on the sporting front for the 2022 World Cup runners‑up.

Starting in the right side of the central pivot alongside Jérémy Jacquet on Thursday night, the former Leipzig player played the full match but appeared in difficulty.

He especially hastened the Blues' downfall by conceding a penalty a quarter of an hour from the end, which was converted by Pio Esposito for the Italian goal (75th minute).

Dayot Upamecano returns to Munich after France's defeat in Italy

For Zinedine Zidane, the absence of one of his defensive stalwarts adds to an already significant disaster during this international break.

Even before the kickoff of this gathering, the staff had already had to cope with the absences of Ousmane Dembélé, Marcus Thuram, Pierre Kalulu or Maghnes Akliouche, and the uncertainty surrounding Kylian Mbappé was added to the list.

Spared against the Nazionale due to a physical niggle, the captain of the Blues is nevertheless expected for the final day of the group stage.

“I hope he’ll be ready for Sunday. That was the plan, that he could rest today and have the possibility to play on Sunday,” Zinedine Zidane said Thursday evening at a press conference.

Bayern star Dayot Upamecano leaves France – team without him

Defensive options for the match against Turkey

To offset Dayot Upamecano’s withdrawal against the Turks this Sunday (20:45), the manager will have to draw from his internal resources among the remaining 22 players.

Besides Jérémy Jacquet, who started in Milan, the coach has two natural alternatives in the pivot: Leny Yoro and Ibrahima Konaté.

Backed by a strong club momentum wearing the Real Madrid colours, the latter appears as the logical favourite to take up the mantle in central defence.