France replace injured Saliba and Fofana in squad for Euro qualifiers

Arsenal's William Saliba and Wesley Fofana of Chelsea have both dropped out of the France squad for the start of their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign with injuries, the French Football Federation announced on Sunday.

They have been replaced by Axel Disasi of Monaco and Jean-Clair Todibo of Nice as France prepare to take on the Netherlands at the Stade de France next Friday before travelling to play the Republic of Ireland in Dublin on Monday, 27 March.

Fofana, 22, had been handed his first call-up by coach Didier Deschamps only to pick up an injury playing for Chelsea against Everton in the Premier League on Saturday.

Saliba, who was part of France's squad at the World Cup in Qatar, was forced to pull out with an injury suffered in Arsenal's Europa League game against Portuguese side Sporting on Thursday.

Disasi was a late addition to France's World Cup squad and came on as a late substitute in the final, while former Barcelona defender Todibo has never been included in the senior squad before.

France will also take on Greece and Gibraltar in Euro 2024 qualifying Group B, with the top two teams in the section both advancing to next year's finals in Germany.