Connect with us

2022 FIFA World Cup

France Fears Grow As Third Player Fall ill Ahead of World Cup Final With Argentina

Published

on

France Fears Grow As Third Player Fall ill Ahead of World Cup Final With Argentina

France squad continues to be struck down with illness as Kingsley Coman becomes the third player to report a fever this week as they prepare to tackle Argentina in Sunday’s World Cup 2022 final.

The reigning champions progressed to the showpiece event courtesy of a 2-0 win over Morocco on Wednesday, although Didier Deschamps was forced into two changes on the night.

Infoexpert24 reported earlier that Adrien Rabiot and Dayot Upamecano both displayed cold-like symptoms before their semi-final match with Morroco.

Advertisement

Youssouf Fofana and Ibrahima Konate were drafted into the first XI by Deschamps, who witnessed his side score through Theo Hernandez and Randal Kolo Muani either side of the half-time whistle.

READ ALSO: France Will Do ‘Everything Humanly Possible’ To Stop Messi From Winning The World Cup – Deschamps

France have another tWO days to recover before they compete for international glory against South American champions Argentina, but according to L’Equipe, Coman is now showing flu-like symptoms.

Advertisement

The report claims that the Bayern Munich attacker was unable to have lunch with his teammates on Thursday and was already feeling under the weather before the semi-final win over Morocco.

Coman was an unused substitute against the Atlas Lions and has now emerged as a doubt for the World Cup final, although he would have been unlikely to start anyway.

The attacker has made five appearances for Les Bleus in Qatar, but four of them have come from the bench, with his only start coming in France’s final Group D defeat to Tunisia.

Advertisement

On a brighter note, Rabiot and Upamecano are understood to be recovering well from their illnesses, and both men should be able to take part in practice on Thursday evening.

Rabiot will likely displace Fofana for the World Cup final alongside Aurelien Tchouameni, who shook off a calf concern in time to make the first XI for Wednesday’s victory.

However, Konate performed admirably in the absence of Upamecano in midweek, so the Bayern Munich defender is fighting more of a battle to regain his place in the first XI.

Advertisement

READ ALSO: Arsene Wenger Hails Former Arsenal Star For Reaching World Cup Final – See Who

Elsewhere, Theo Hernandez will need closer assessment after taking a couple of blows to the knee on Wednesday, while Olivier Giroud, Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann all sustained bruises in that game.

There is nothing to suggest that the quartet will not be present for the final at this moment in time, and France are also allowed to recall Karim Benzema, who left the camp before the opening matchday after suffering a thigh injury.

Advertisement

The Ballon d’Or winner has now returned to training with Real Madrid, and Les Bleus did not call up a replacement at the time of his injury, so they could welcome him back for Sunday’s game.

However, Deschamps refused to comment on the possibility of recalling Benzema when asked in Wednesday’s post-game press conference.

Facebook Comments
Advertisement