With France set to face Colombia, Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele’s absence in the starting lineup raised some doubts among fans. France and Colombia meet in one of the most compelling matchups of the March international window on Sunday at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland. However, when the starting lineups were released, both Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele were notably absent from the France XI.
Neither Mbappe nor Dembele will start against Colombia, with head coach Didier Deschamps opting for a heavy rotation following the win over Brazil. The French manager has taken a completely different approach for the clash against Los Cafeteros, making wholesale changes throughout the lineup.
In fact, compared to Thursday’s starting XI against Brazil, not a single player has retained their spot for the Colombia match, including goalkeeper Mike Maignan, who has been replaced between the posts by Brice Samba.
Against Brazil, Dembele’s involvement was limited to 58 minutes before Deschamps brought on Maxence Lacroix following Dayot Upamecano’s red card. Mbappe, who opened the scoring in that match, was substituted in the 66th minute, with Marcus Thuram coming on to take his place up front.
Nos 1️⃣1️⃣ Bleus pour débuter face à la Colombie 🇨🇴✊Coup d’envoi à 21h sur TF1 📺#FRACOL pic.twitter.com/arcK8VSop9— Equipe de France ⭐⭐ (@equipedefrance) March 29, 2026
Colombia head coach Nestor Lorenzo has taken the opposite approach, naming a full-strength side that includes James Rodriguez, Luis Diaz and others from the start. With a bench that still includes Mbappe and Dembele, however, Deschamps retains the element of surprise should he need to call on his biggest names.
*Developing story…