Raphael Varane says reaching a second career World Cup final is a “very emotional” achievement for him, after the defender helped France beat Morocco 2-0 in Wednesday's semi-final to set up a showdown with Argentina on Sunday.
Varane nearly missed the tournament due to a knee injury picked up in Manchester United ’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea in October, the centre-half leaving the Stamford Bridge pitch in tears fearing the worst. But he won the race against time to make it into Dider Deschamps’ squad, although sat out the opening 4-1 win over Australia.
He has started every game since and kept his country’s first clean sheet of the tournament against Morocco. Varane was integral to France’s 2018 success, when they beat Croatia 4-2 in the final. He played in every match of their triumph four years ago too and will play his 18th World Cup game on Sunday in what will be his 93rd cap for Les Bleus.
