William Saliba left France's World Cup semifinal against Spain injured in the first half, and France had to turn to Maxence Lacroix after the defender went down near midfield without contact and limped off in the 30th minute.
That changed the match at once. France was already chasing a 1-0 deficit after Mikel Oyarzabal converted a penalty in the 22nd minute, and losing a key defender only tightened the margin for error in a World Cup semifinal.
The immediate concern is not just the scoreline but Saliba himself. The injury appeared to be to a muscle, the kind of problem that can start as a grimace and become something far more limiting once a player tries to push through it. There was no contact on the play, which makes the sight of him leaving all the more worrying for France.
That worry was there before the semifinal, too. Last month, Saliba said he had been playing through pain for several months, saying he had been gritting his teeth because of the Champions League and the Premier League. He also said the World Cup comes around only once every four years and that he was not at 100%, even as he insisted others were carrying knocks as well.
So the injury lands with an edge that goes beyond one substitution. Saliba had already been trying to manage discomfort across a long run of matches, and now France must weigh whether the cost of that choice has been paid in the sharpest possible moment. The match moved on with Lacroix in his place, but the larger question is whether Saliba will be available again at the 2026 World Cup or whether this is the sort of setback that lingers long after the semifinal ends.
