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France (opens in new tab) boss Didier Deschamps says the world champions are ‘taking precautions’, as a virus in the squad threatens their bid to retain their crown at World Cup 2022 (opens in new tab).
Les Bleus will face Argentina (opens in new tab) in Sunday’s final, having beaten Morocco 2-0 in the last four on Wednesday – but a bug has been causing problems in their camp.
Dayot Upamecano, Adrien Rabiot – both key members of the French starting 11 – and Kingsley Coman all missed the semi-final as a result, and Deschamps isn’t taking the situation lightly.
During his press conference following the win over Morocco – which took France into their fourth World Cup final – the 54-year-old said:
“We’ve had a few cases with flu-like symptoms; we’re all trying to be careful so that it doesn’t spread. The players have made [a] great effort on the pitch, so their immune systems [have suffered]; Upamecano suffered immediately after the [2-1 quarter-final victory over England]. It’s something that happens; you’re more prone to [being] infected.
“Viruses are infectious, so we have to take precautions. We separated Dayot [Upamecano], and Adrien [Rabiot] also.”
France enter the final as slight favourites, but they certainly won’t want to lose any more players as they try to stop Lionel Messi and co.
Should Les Bleus get their hands on the trophy once again, Deschamps will become just the second coach to win the World Cup multiple times – after Vittorio Pozzo with Italy in 1934 and 1938.
