Dayot Upamecano sanctioned and leaves Zidane's France group

France will be without Dayot Upamecano for the final match of the international window, forcing Zinedine Zidane to reorganise his central defence. The Bayern Munich defender has left the national-team group after being suspended for the meeting with Belgium.

Upamecano was sent off during France’s 1-1 draw with Italy on Friday. He received a second yellow card in the 85th minute after pulling Moise Kean’s shirt, having already been booked in the 73rd minute during an argument with the Como forward. The dismissal brings an automatic one-match suspension. He would have missed Belgium’s game regardless because of an earlier yellow card picked up in Turkey.

France began the gathering with 23 players, but Kylian Mbappe’s injury in Turkey was not followed by a replacement. With Upamecano now departing, the squad is expected to have 21 players for the Belgium fixture. His absence removes a regular option from the centre of Zidane’s defence after he shared the first three matches with Jérémy Jacquet and Maxence Lacroix.

Jacquet and Lacroix could form the central pairing, as they did in the first meeting in Brussels. Leny Yoro is another specialist in the position, while Jules Koundé can also move into the centre. Upamecano will return to Bayern Munich ahead of the club’s trip to Augsburg next Saturday.