Brazil vs France LIVE: Team news and updates as two World Cup favourites meet in heavyweight clash

Similarly, France have lost their key Arsenal defender in William Saliba due to injury, with Jules Kounde also out with a hamstring strain. Captain Kylian Mbappe looks set to be involved.

Arsenal centre back Gabriel Magalhaes withdrew from the squad in a blow for Carlo Ancelotti, while Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson is also unavailable. Neymar was not called-up while Igor Thiago will be hoping to obtain his first cap after impressing at Brentford.

Brazil take on France in a high-profile friendly in Boston on Thursday – three months out from the 2026 World Cup.

Carlo Ancelotti’s Brazil only finished fifth in their World Cup qualifying group, with Ancelotti joining last summer and replacing Dorival Junior. They will face Scotland, Morocco and Haiti in their group this summer.

2018 World Cup winners France, and 2022 finalists, breezed to top spot in their qualifying group with Ukraine, Iceland and Azerbaijan. Didier Deschamps’ side will face Norway, Senegal and a play-off side this summer.

The last time these two met was 2015 in a friendly, with Brazil winning 3-1. The 1998 final is, of course, their most memorable meeting, with France winning 3-0.

Hello and welcome to The Independent’s live blog coverage of tonight’s friendly between Brazil and France in Boston.

Two footballing giants face off in a World Cup host city just three months before the tournament kicks off in June, and while both of these sides will harbour hopes of winning the biggest prize in the sport come July, the first task at hand is for their respective managers to decide their squads.

The likes of Kylian Mbappe, Michael Olise and Vinicius Jr could be involved tonight, as a raft of players look to impress Didier Deschamps and Carlo Ancelotti in the last bath of fixtures before the squads are decided.

And we’ll have all the latest build-up, team news and updates from the game right here.