LAST UPDATE | 17 Dec 2022
FRANCE HEAD COACH Didier Deschamps has ruled out a shock World Cup final return for Karim Benzema despite sweating on the fitness of several key players as his team battle a mystery virus on the eve of the World Cup final against Argentina.
With less than 24 hours to go before the world champions face Lionel Messi and Argentina at Doha’s Lusail Stadium on Sunday, France have been left reeling by a viral outbreak that is believed to have affected five players so far.
Central defenders Raphael Varane and Ibrahima Konate, and winger Kingsley Coman were the latest players to be laid low by the illness, forced to miss a training session on Friday.
That came two days after Adrien Rabiot and Dayot Upamecano were ruled out of Wednesday’s semi-final victory over Morocco.
Players, staff and other sources close to the French squad have spoken of a range of symptoms affecting the team in recent days including fever, stomach pain and headaches.
“We are trying to take as many precautions as possible, to adapt as necessary and get on with it,” Deschamps said at a press conference.
“Obviously it would be better if this wasn’t happening but we are handling it as well as possible with our medical staff.”
There was a more encouraging bulletin from the French camp later Saturday after all 24 members of Deschamps’ squad took to the field at the start of a final team training.
It was not clear if all players played a full part in the session, however, which was only open to the media for the first 15 minutes.
Benzema, the Real Madrid striker, was forced to withdraw from the France squad on the eve of the tournament in Qatar due to a thigh injury.
Since then, he has returned to training with the La Liga outfit and featured in a friendly earlier in the week, prompting speculation he could yet return to the Middle East for Sunday’s final against Argentina.
Because his injury occurred so close to the start of the finals, a replacement could not be called up and so Benzema is still registered as one of the initial 26-strong pool available to Deschamps – who refused to answer a question on a potential return following the 2-0 semi-final win over Morocco.
Illness has spread through the France camp in the days leading up to the final but Deschamps said he will only be working with the 24 players currently in the squad, full-back Lucas Hernandez having been injured in the group-stage win over Australia.
“I know that some players have been injured, Karim Benzema is one of those, Lucas Hernandez got injured in the first game and from that point onwards I’ve got 24 players in my squad,” Deschamps said.
“They are the players at my disposal. So I don’t think it is fair to those players to ask about players who aren’t here.
“It is not up to me to decide who comes to watch the game, former players or injured players, it really isn’t up to me.
“I focus on my squad and the players at my disposal. I lost those players from my squad even though they were in it to begin with.”
Benzema has scored 37 goals in 97 caps for France but has a chequered history with the national team, having not been called up between 2015 and 2021.
The 34-year-old posted a cryptic message on Instagram on Friday – a selfie with the words “I don’t care” as the caption.
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