William Saliba: France legend makes new World Cup 2026 claim after Arsenal injury reports

France would be missing out on their best World Cup 2026 centre-back pairing if reports of William Saliba's injury are to be believed, a Bleus legend has exclusively told Sports Mole.

Earlier this week, it was claimed that Saliba had aggravated a back injury during Arsenal's Champions League final loss to Paris Saint-Germain, one that could sideline him for several weeks.

Saliba's entire World Cup could therefore be compromised if his latest blow is as serious as feared, but there has been no official communication from either Arsenal or France.

Furthermore, Bleus boss Didier Deschamps recently insisted that "everything was fine" when asked about the Saliba reports, and the 25-year-old has been seen alongside his teammates in the France training camp.

However, Saliba's condition will be monitored by doctors, and there are concerns that he may need to undergo surgery after the World Cup, meaning he could miss the start of the 2026-27 season for Arsenal.

France World Cup winner Frank Leboeuf picks best Bleus centre-back pairing

The defender's prospective World Cup absence would be a bitter blow to France, according to 1998 World Cup winner Frank Leboeuf, who snubbed Real Madrid-bound Ibrahima Konate when asked to pick his best Bleus centre-back pairing.

"My starting pairing would be Saliba & [Dayot] Upamecano," Leboeuf said in association with William Hill, one of the best football betting sites for the World Cup. "Upamecano had a very good winning season with Bayern Munich and his confidence is very high.

"We know Saliba can be more confident and less shy playing for France, but he is a great player, he deserves his place, he had a great season with Arsenal winning the Premier League, so I would say these two for sure.

"Konate is there, but he will have to be patient, not the greatest of seasons for him. Lacroix has really been impressive, he won the Conference League, he is confident and he will be pushing to start, but Saliba & Upamecano get it for me."

Saliba has won 31 caps for the French senior team since his debut in 2022 and was in Les Bleus' Qatar World Cup squad, but he did not start a single game at the most recent edition.

When can France face England at the World Cup?

Deschamps's side commence their World Cup 2026 campaign against Senegal in Group I on June 16, before meeting Iraq and Norway on June 22 and 26 respectively.

Should France top their group as expected, they will face one of the third-placed teams from groups C, D, F, G or H, and they could not meet England until the semi-finals in that scenario.

However, if Les Bleus finish as runners-up in Group I and England win Group L, the cross-channel rivals could clash in the quarter-finals.

Using our interactive World Cup bracket tool, if England and France both qualify for the knockout rounds as some of the best third-placed teams, there is a slim chance that they could square off in the last 16 on July 7.

As Saliba's fitness will be closely tracked, England may therefore have already been handed an early boost for a potential clash with Les Bleus given Leboeuf's best central pairing assessment.

Frank Leboeuf was speaking to Sports Mole on behalf of William Hill's World Cup odds.