France boss Didier Deschamps will want to have a good look at his squad in the team's next two friendlies, starting with Friday's contest against Ivory Coast in Marseille.

Karim Benzema is the standout absentee through injury, while the likes of Ousmane Dembele, Kurt Zouma and Marcus Thuram have also been left out of the squad.

Benjamin Pavard, meanwhile, has been forced to withdraw due to a positive COVID-19 test, and N'Golo Kante is a major doubt, having recently left the camp due to personal reasons.

Lucas Digne is also a doubt through injury, so Theo Hernandez could play at left-back, with his brother Lucas Hernandez operating alongside Raphael Varane in the middle of the defence.

Jonathan Clauss, William Saliba and Christopher Nkunku have all been called into the squad for the first time and will be hoping to make their debuts for the Blues in their next two matches.

Olivier Giroud is also back in the squad, and the striker could benefit from Benzema's absence to feature alongside Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann in a front three, although Moussa Diaby, Wissam Ben Yedder and Kingsley Coman are also pushing for starting roles.

There is a chance that Kante could still play in this match, but Deschamps is likely to be preparing an XI without the Chelsea midfielder, so Adrien Rabiot and Aurelien Tchouameni may feature alongside Paul Pogba in the middle.

Jules Kounde, meanwhile, could get the nod at right-back here, while Hugo Lloris is expected to start between the sticks, leaving Alphonse Areola and Mike Maignan on the bench.

France possible starting lineup: Lloris; Kounde, Varane, L Hernandez, T Hernandez; Rabiot, Tchouameni, Pogba; Griezmann; Giroud, Mbappe body check tags ::