the virus, the main threat to the Blues before the final?

Published on : 15/12/2022 – 15:07Modified : 15/12/2022 – 15:09

The main opponent of the France team for the World Cup final is not called Lionel Messi. Not yet. “Cold snap”, “febrility”, “disease”… The disease affecting the Blues a few days before the final against Argentina has been given several names but remains mysterious.

Facing Morocco, France had to deal with two absentees among their usual starters: central back Dayot Upamecano, absent from collective training the two previous days, was on the bench while midfielder Adrien Rabiot remained on the bench. hotel, unable to take bus to Al-Bayt stadium. At the end of the match, it was revealed that Kingsley Coman had not been able to make his entrance due to “febrility”. Symptoms that can make you think of Covid-19, especially when “sore throat” has become the fashionable euphemism in the world of sport to designate the virus.

“We are all careful”

Anxious to allay fears, coach Didier Deschamps returned to the subject during the post-match press conference. He notably recalled that after a grueling competition, “we are a little more sensitive to anything that can be viral”.

“The temperatures have dropped a bit, the air conditioning is on full blast. There are feverish states. We are all careful. We are taking precautions, we are adapting. Everything that is viral is transmissible. We have taken precautions so that there is no contact, with Dayot, and for Adrien the same”, he explained.

Half-word, “DD” concedes the possibility of a virus circulating in the base camp of the Blues, but “without thinking of anything else”. Understand: the staff of the Blues refuses to think about Covid-19, whose circulation in Doha has been completely obscured by the World Cup. Qatar has largely revised down health measures, particularly on the wearing of masks, while Fifa no longer requires teams to carry out screening tests.

France 24 has asked the French team if a Covid-19 test has been carried out on Upamecano and Rabiot, but the staff has not yet responded.

Contradictions on the subject

If Theo Hernandez assures that “nothing has changed” within the Blues on health measures, Aurélien Tchouaméni assures the opposite. “We are more careful, there is more hydroalcoholic gel on the tables, we hope that everyone will stay healthy for the next match because it’s a final and we want to have all our forces present”, added said the Real Madrid midfielder.

“Dayot was there, available, not completely 100%, and that’s why he didn’t start the match. He had three complicated days even though he was able to make some effort. He was feverish, with an impact on the muscular aspect compared to the requirements of the evening”, wants to reassure Didier Deschamps in a press conference.

As for Rabiot, “he was ill a little later. He was better this afternoon, but not enough, so he stayed at the hotel so as not to take any risks. He should logically be available for Sunday” in the final against Argentina.

The management of the Blues had remained vague, in recent days, on the precise nature of the disease which affects certain members of the group.

Deputy Guy Stéphan spoke of “a cold snap” at the microphone of Fifa before the match, but “nothing serious”. Asked, Randal Kolo Muani was also not very vocal. “Worried? No, not at all!” he retorted. “Dayot was on the bench, he is doing very well”.

Concerns did not prevent the Blues from celebrating their qualification, in the locker room, in the company of Emmanuel Macron, as in the hotel, with loud cries and hugs galore.

With AFP