FIFA World Cup: France's World Cup players suffer from an unknown disease

    Raphael Varane and Ibrahima Konate were the most recent defenders to become unwell on Friday, according to the French Football Federation, as the team prepared for the World Cup final versus Argentina

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    Varane, Konate, and attacker Kingsley Coman were knocked out as Les Bleus got ready to face Argentina and Lionel Messi on Sunday.

    After two players, defender Dayot Upamecano and midfielder Adrien Rabiot were ruled out of the semi-final victory over Morocco, the trio of absentees increased concerns about a mystery infection in the French camp.

    <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">France squad &#39;is struck by illness&#39; on the eve of their World Cup semi-final against Morocco <a href="https://t.co/cINmF9If2c">https://t.co/cINmF9If2c</a></p>&mdash; MailOnline Sport (@MailSport) <a href="https://twitter.com/MailSport/status/1602707871279489024?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 13, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

    On Friday, Rabiot and Upamecano both went back to practice. After Wednesday's victory, manager Didier Deschamps resisted the need to panic and stated that they were taking precautions to prevent the illness from spreading.

    Common Flu or COVID?

    "These are clearly not ideal circumstances, with so little time before the grand final against Argentina on Sunday," reports Selina Sykes of FRANCE 24 from Doha 

    "If anything is reassuring about this so-called virus spreading through the French camp, it is the fact that it only seems to last a few days

    However, not all French players are experiencing illness, according to FRANCE 24 sports journalist Romain Houeix, who was speaking on the phone from Qatar. "Many French journalists are in poor condition," he stated.

    "For a week, people have been coughing and ill. Since we work 15-hour days and have no time for testing, we cannot identify what it is."

    On Friday, French players attempted to downplay the ailments. French forward Randal Kolo Muani said the sick players had been kept apart.

    Those who are ill remain in their rooms and are attended to by doctors, and social seclusion is enforced. It's strictly enforced here," he remarked.

    Winger Ousmane Dembélé said: "We're not scared of that virus. Dayot and Adrien got a bit of a stomach ache, I made them a ginger and honey tea and then they felt better. I hope everyone will be ready for the final."

    Deschamps would have difficulty deciding if Konate and Varane could not play in the championship game, given they were two of their top three defenders.

     

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