A cold virus is running through the France squad ahead of the World Cup final against Argentina on Sunday, affecting at least three players in the squad.
Coach Didier Deschamps said two players
with symptoms, defender Dayot Upamecano and midfielder Adrien Rabiot, were
isolated earlier this week and didn’t play in France’s 2-0 semifinal win over
Morocco.
Rabiot wasn’t in the lineup in Wednesday’s
match at Al Bayt stadium. Upamecano was in the lineup as a substitute but
didn’t play. Deschamps said Upamecano was recovering from “three difficult
days” since playing in the quarterfinals against England on Saturday.
“However, we have four days until the next
game, so he should be available for Sunday,” the coach said, adding back-up
winger Kingsley Coman had also felt feverish.
He insisted he expects all his players to
be healthy for the final against Argentina.
“It’s ’flu season now, and in that sense,
we have to be careful,” he said. “And also, the players have put in a huge
shift and their immune system might be a little run down.”
France has been training outdoors in Qatar
and Deschamps noted the “use of air conditioners may also affect” how the virus
is circulating, echoing comments earlier in the tournament from the Brazil
camp.
Seven of the eight World Cup stadiums cool
the air at field level while interiors of buildings and transport in Qatar are
routinely air-conditioned.
Switzerland also had an outbreak of heavy
colds and had two starters missing for a decisive group-stage game against
Serbia.
The daytime heat has settled at around
25-27 Celsius (77-81 Fahrenheit) for the final week of the month-long
tournament which started with temperatures in the low-30s (high 80s).
The first World Cup to be played in
November and December was moved from the usual scheduling in June and July when
temperatures in Qatar routinely rise above 40 C (104 F)
“The temperatures have dropped in the last
few days, and you always need to be careful,” Deschamps said. “Regarding the
virus, we’re not worried, really.” -AP
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