The France squad has been hit with additional illnesses ahead of the most important game of their careers to date. France is set to square off with Argentina on Sunday in what is expected to be a spicy World Cup final.
The game will pit Lionel Messi, the man touted as soccer’s GOAT, against Kylian Mbappe, a young forward looking likely to become the new face of the game who has already won a World Cup – something Messi can’t boast.
The French have a chance to make history and become the first team to win two consecutive World Cups since Brazil in 1962, having beaten Croatia in 2018’s final.
Head coach Didier Deschamps will hope to have enough healthy bodies available to take on the tumultuous task as it appears there is a viral outbreak in their camp. Starters Dayot Upamecano and Adrien Rabiot were unable to take to the pitch for Wednesday’s semi-final clash with Morocco due to illness.
And, on Thursday, Deschamps confirmed Kinsley Coman was also dealing with illness, despite the aforementioned pair being isolated from the rest of the squad. It’s understood that France is battling the spread of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), locally known as “Camel Flu.”
France Staring At Possibility Of Absences From Important Pair
Things have now gotten significantly direr, with center-backs Raphael Varane and Ibrahima Konate both out of training as a result of illness, per French publication L’Equipe.
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If you’ve been watching the World Cup, you’re likely to know that Varane has been one of the best defenders in the tournament. He recovered from an injury sustained while at Manchester United just in time to be available for his country and has proven immense at the back. It will be a huge blow for Les Bleus if they cannot have him in their backline on Sunday.
Konate wasn’t Deschamps’ first choice as Varane’s CB partner but Upamecano’s absence handed him an opportunity to start for France and he has been solid too.
Varane’s symptoms are said to be mild but Konate’s are more serious.
Meanwhile, Upamecano and Coman are said to have recovered from their own symptoms and could be in the squad for Sunday.
