William Saliba is expecting a difficult game when France take on Iraq in Philadelphia tomorrow.
Les Bleus, World Cup winners in 2018 and runners-up in 2022, made an impressive start to the tournament by defeating Senegal 3-1 with a performance that got better as the game went on.
Kylian Mbappe scored twice and Michael Olise ran the midfield in the second half to hand Didier Deschamps’ men a winning start in Group I.
Iraq opened with a 4-1 defeat to Norway that underlined their status as the weakest team in the pool.
France are odds-on favourites to see off Graham Arnold’s men but Arsenal centre-half Saliba is expecting a difficult game against a team that had to come through the Play-Off Tournament to qualify.
“We’ve watched some of the videos from their game against Norway and I think they have a good team,” he said. “It won’t be easy, even if people think that because we’re playing Iraq we’ll automatically get the three points.”
Saliba has been struggling with a back injury but is expected to retain his place at the heart of the France defence.
“I’ve had some minor niggles for several months. I’ve been gritting my teeth because there was the Champions League and the Premier League,” he added.
“But the coaching staff are handling it very well.
“The World Cup comes round only once every four years, so you’ve got to grit your teeth. I’m not at 100%, but there are plenty of players who aren’t at 100% either – you can’t make excuses.”
Team news for France v Iraq
France may make three changes with Bradley Barcola, who also scored against Senegal, set to replace PSG team-mate Desire Doue and Lucas Digne coming in at left-back at the expense of Theo Hernandez. Aurelien Tchouameni could be dropped to the bench with Manu Koné starting alongside Adrien Rabiot in midfield.
Iraq goalkeeper Jamal Hassan is likely to be left out after a poor display against Norway with Ahmed Basil set to come into the starting XI.
Predicted line-ups for France v Iraq
France: Maignan; Kounde, Saliba, Upamecano, Digne; Rabiot, Kone; Dembele, Olise, Barcola; Mbappe
Iraq: Basil; Ali, Tahseen, Hashem, Doski; Bayesh, Al-Ammari, Iqbal, Ali Jasim; Hussein, Al-Hamadi
Where to watch France v Iraq: TV and online streams
France v Iraq kicks off tomorrow night at 10pm UK time. You can watch it on BBC 1 and stream via the iPlayer.
Click HERE for a full World Cup TV guide
Stats for France v Iraq
- France have won 10 of their last 12 games
- France have not kept a clean sheet in any of their last six games
- Iraq have not won any of their last three games
- Aymen Hussein’s goal and own goal against Norway saw him become just the third man to score at both ends in a World Cup game
