France set to reshape attack with Doué as false nine

France are preparing a tactical adjustment for their second Nations League match in Belgium, with Désiré Doué expected to lead the attack as a false nine. Bradley Barcola and Eduardo Camavinga are also in line to start, while Ousmane Dembélé could move to the bench.

Mike Maignan is expected to remain in goal behind a defence of Jules Koundé, Dayot Upamecano, Maxime Lacroix and Adrien Truffert. Rayan Cherki, Camavinga and Adrien Rabiot would form the midfield, with Michael Olise, Barcola and Doué completing the attacking unit. The proposed team would represent three changes from France’s previous match.

The preparations in Brussels did not include a full eleven-versus-eleven exercise because the squad contains only 22 players. Zinedine Zidane instead rotated positions and used smaller combinations, but Doué was repeatedly tested in the central attacking role alongside Olise and Barcola. Cherki, Camavinga and Rabiot were also paired in midfield, while the Upamecano-Lacroix partnership was retained in central defence.

Zidane also spoke with Dembélé before the session and indicated that the Paris Saint-Germain forward was capable of playing all four matches in the current sequence, although that is not the intended plan. The expected lineup therefore points to rotation and a different attacking structure rather than a settled first-choice XI.