As the Europa League flares up, France's team is in a state of flux, with not only captain Kilian McBarbee suffering a broken nose, but also wing forward Kingsley Gowan, who is feared to be a key absentee in the group match against Poland in the early hours of Wednesday (26).
Looking back at the group stage, Kynsley Gauvin did not feature against Austria, and against the Netherlands, he had to pull out of earlier training due to an injury sustained in his 15-minute outing, despite coming on as a substitute after 75 minutes. The Bayern Munich superstar was ill-fated, and even in his brief appearance, a calf injury caused him to miss a number of exciting duels. It remains to be seen whether he will be able to make a comeback against Poland, pending the final results of his medical.
France had already accumulated four points in the group stage, tied with Poland, and the road to advancement seemed smooth as long as they maintained their form. However, with Poland opting out due to suspicions of warlike intentions, the challenge facing France seems to have added a little more uncertainty.
