France is dealing with an unspecified virus that appears to be spreading throughout the team as the World Cup final against Argentina approaches.
Dayot Upamecano and Adrien Rabiot, both regular starters, were both ill and missed Wednesday’s semifinal, which France won 2-0 over Morocco.
France will face Argentina in the final on Sunday, and head coach Didier Deschamps has stated that Upamecano and Rabiot have been isolated from their teammates in order to prevent the virus from spreading.
However, winger Kingsley Coman appears to have caught the bug as well.
“Coman had a fever this morning as well,” the coach said to reporters on Thursday. “The temperatures in Doha have dropped slightly, but the air conditioning is still on all the time. There have been a few reports of flu-like symptoms.
“Immediately following the game against England, Dayot felt bad. When you overexert yourself, your body weakens and you become more susceptible to viruses. We’re taking all necessary precautions and attempting to keep it from spreading, but viruses are, of course, infectious and must be avoided. We separated him from the others, as well as Adrien.”
France is not the first team in Qatar to suffer from a flu-like illness. Several Brazil players were ill earlier in the tournament. Brazil winger Antony, like Deschamps, blamed the problem on stadium air conditioning.
The Netherlands squad was also battling a virus leading up to their last-16 match against the United States, though the Dutch were able to defeat the Americans 3-1.
