Dayot Upamecano has departed the France national team training camp at Clairefontaine following his expulsion during the 1-1 draw against Italy on Friday evening, according to reports from sports.fr.
The Bayern Munich defender, who received two yellow cards during the UEFA Nations League match, will not be available for France’s final fixture of the international window against Belgium on Monday.
The decision for the 26-year-old to return to his club was made in consultation with manager Zinédine Zidane, sports.fr reported. Upamecano left the team’s training base at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday. His departure follows that of captain Kylian Mbappé, who exited the squad earlier in the international break due to a knee injury.
Prior to his exit, Upamecano had been a central figure in the French defense during the clash with Italy. However, his evening concluded prematurely after he received cautions in the 73rd and 85th minutes. According to sports.fr, both bookings involved incidents with Italian striker Moïse Kean; the first followed a verbal exchange between the players, while the second resulted from a tactical foul.
Before the disciplinary issues arose, Upamecano had expressed a positive outlook on his role within the squad during a press conference on Wednesday, November 11. He spoke about his evolving responsibilities as a primary playmaker from the back, even joking about his offensive forays by comparing himself to his Bayern Munich teammate, the Ballon d’Or winner Harry Kane.
“I haven’t finished progressing yet,” Upamecano said during the media session, as reported by ouest-france.fr. He had approached the Nations League fixture with a renewed sense of confidence, emphasizing his desire to continue developing as a defender who contributes to the team’s attacking transitions.
With Upamecano ruled out of the upcoming match against Belgium on Monday at 20:45 CET, Zinédine Zidane must now reconfigure his defensive line. sports.fr reports that the manager is expected to rely on a central defensive partnership of Maxence Lacroix and Jérémy Jacquet, a pairing that previously featured during the reverse fixture against the Red Devils.
While Upamecano will follow the match from Munich, his absence is the second personnel change for France during this international period. The team remains focused on their final Nations League group stage preparations as they look to secure a result against Belgium.
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