AL KHOR, Qatar – Didier Deschamps revealed France was taking precautions to stop the virus spreading through the squad ahead of the World Cup final against Argentina.
Dayot Upamecano and Adrien Rabiot are not available for Wednesday’s 2-0 semi-final win over Morocco at Al Bayt Stadium after suffering from illness in recent days.
– Streaming on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (US)
Although Deschamps hopes both players can return for Sunday’s clash — in which Les Bleus could become the first team to successfully defend the trophy since Brazil in 1962 — he revealed the pair were initially isolated from the others.
Upamecano returned to training on Tuesday and was called off the bench against Morocco while Rabiot was left in the team hotel with sources telling ESPN he was told to stay in his room.
Kingsley Coman had also had a “fever” the previous day according to Deschamps. Although the specific virus affecting the French camp remains unclear, many Qatari visitors struggle with Middle East respiratory syndrome, which can cause a flu-like illness of varying severity.
“In Doha, the temperature drops a little bit, you have the air conditioning on all the time,” said Deschamps.
“We’ve had a few cases of flu-like symptoms. We’re trying to be careful it doesn’t spread and the players have been pushing hard on the pitch and it’s clear their immune systems are suffering.
“Dayot Upamecano immediately felt ill after the game [against England]. It happens that when you make such efforts, your body is weakened and you are more prone to be infected by this virus.
“We are taking all the necessary precautions, we are trying to make sure it doesn’t spread but the virus is of course contagious and we have to take precautions against it. We are separating him from the others and Adrien as well.”
– Olley: France set the odds to win back-to-back World Cups
– Messi, Mbappe fighting for top individual World Cup honors
Goals from Theo Hernandez and substitute Randal Kolo Muani were enough to give France victory over the spirited Moroccans.
Antoine Griezmann was named man of the match after another influential performance and he admits beating Lionel Messi’s Argentina side – in “brilliant form” as Deschamps put it – will require another step.
“Any team with Messi is a completely different proposition,” said Griezmann. “We have seen almost all of their games in this World Cup, we have seen Argentina play, we know how they play, they are a difficult team to play and they seem to be in top form.
“Of course, it’s not just Messi, they have a strong team around them so we know it’s going to be a tough game and they’re going to have a lot of support from the crowd.
“We will be back to work tomorrow, focus on that, how can we hurt them, how can we defend against them, we will prepare well.”
