France hope they have contained the virus that has swept through their camp after Kingsley Coman, Raphaël Varane and Ibrahima Konaté returned to training before Sunday’s World Cup final against Argentina.
The world champions have had to put social distancing measures in place in an attempt to stop more players falling unwell before the final at the Lusail Stadium. Coman, Dayot Upamecano and Adrien Rabiot missed France’s semi-final victory against Morocco on Wednesday and the situation worsened when Varane and Konaté were forced to skip training on Friday.
France, who also had injury concerns over Aurélien Tchouaméni and Theo Hernandez, responded by implementing increased hygiene measures and urging players to wash their hands. Didier Deschamps, who had Upamecano and Rabiot back in training on Friday, could not afford to lose more players.
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However, their hopes of beating Argentina were boosted when all 24 of their players reported for training on Saturday night. Varane, Coman and Konaté rejoined their teammates, while Hernandez and Tchouaméni were also back.
“On the virus, you are never really prepared for that type of thing,” France’s captain and goalkeeper, Hugo Lloris, said. “But we are trying to get ready for this match as well as we can. We remain focused.”
Injuries have been an issue for Deschamps before and during this tournament. France have been without the injured Presnel Kimpembe, Paul Pogba, N’Golo Kanté, Christopher Nkunku and Karim Benzema. They also lost their first-choice left-back, Lucas Hernandez, to a serious knee injury in their opening game.
Yet they have managed to overcome their misfortune by reaching the final. Their attack has functioned without Benzema. There were suggestions earlier this week that the Real Madrid striker could fly back to Qatar to join the squad for the final following his recovery from a torn thigh muscle, but Deschamps does not sound enamoured with that idea.
France’s head coach has even indicated that he has no interest in whether Benzema, whose place has been taken by Olivier Giroud, supports the team from the stands.
“Some players have been injured and Karim Benzema is one of them and Lucas Hernandez got injured in the first game,” Deschamps said. “From that point on I have 24 players in my squad and they are the ones at my disposal, so I don’t think it is fair to those players to ask about players who aren’t here. It is not up to me to decide who comes to watch the game – former players or injured players.”
