The France team faces Argentina this Sunday, in the World Cup final. The Blues should be able to count on the return of Varane, Konaté and Coman who seem to have recovered from the virus which had kept them out of training.
20:35 – End of live
[FIN DU DIRECT] – This is the end of this live dedicated to the France team. We meet tomorrow at 10 am to live throughout the day the last day of the World Cup on the French side. The Blues will face Argentina at 4 p.m. at the Lusail stadium in Doha.
19:32 – The number of the day: 200
This Saturday, December 17, 2022, less than 24 hours from the World Cup final between France and Argentina, there were no less than 200 journalists to attend the last session of Lionel Messi and his friends of the Albiceleste.
18:31 – The likely composition of the Blues for the World Cup final
The probable composition of the French team announced by RMC Sport is as follows: Lloris – Koundé, Varane, Upamecano, T. Hernandez – Tchouaméni, Griezmann, Rabiot – Dembélé, Giroud, Mbappé. However, during the opposition of the day, Marcus Thuram was used to the detriment of Olivier Giroud, on the left side. The AC Milan striker has resumed his place on the front line of the Blues attack…
17:29 – Both teams are complete
According to RMC Sport, all players from both squads were present in training. On the French side, Aurélien Tchouaméni, Ibrahima Konaté, Kingsley Coman, Raphaël Varane and Théo Hernandez are therefore back on the field on the eve of the 2022 World Cup final.
4:30 p.m. – Karim Benzema’s historical adviser breaks the silence
While rumors of a cold between Didier Deschamps and Karim Benzema, the historical adviser of the Ballon d’Or 2022, Karim Djaziri, spoke on Twitter. He asked everyone, especially the media, to focus on the upcoming final this Sunday against Argentina. “I remind some that tomorrow France is playing a CDM final, you have to be behind all the players who will be on the pitch to bring us a 3rd star and leave Benzema alone who will be more than ever behind the blues to offer him the title which misses him,” he wrote.
I remind some that tomorrow France is playing a CDM final, you have to be behind all the players who will be on the field to bring us a 3rd star and leave alone @Benzema who will be behind the blues more than ever to offer him the title he lacks????️
— Karim Djaziri (@KDjaziri) December 17, 2022
3:30 p.m. – Distinguished guests for the Blues final
We know the prestigious guests who will attend the final between France and Argentina this Sunday, December 18, 2022. A first delegation has arrived in Doha with, among others, Ngolo Kanté, Paul Pogba and Presnel Kimpembe. They will be joined by Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, the Minister of Sports, Bruno Cheyrou, a former player of Olympique de Marseille, Laure Boulleau, a former player of the French women’s football team, Brahim Asloum, a former champion of boxing, and Olympic judo medalist Teddy Riner, who will travel on the presidential plane with Emmanuel Macron.
14:29 – Deschamps affirms it, “I do not take care of the invitations of players, former players or injured players”
Asked about Karim de Benzema, Didier Deschamps seemed annoyed: “Do you spread the word among foreign journalists? If I don’t answer, you’ll say I’m upset. I have players who have been injured before. Karim in part. The last to be injured was Lucas Hernandez. Since then, I have 24 players to manage. Asking the question vis-à-vis these players is clumsy to say the least, even a little more.” The coach did not want to bounce back on the controversy over the invitation of former glories and injured players: “The group is there. I don’t take care of the invitations of players, former players or injured players. I don’t know not who will be there. We had a group at the start and who, from what happened… We lost three of them, with Nkunku at the beginning. They were part of the beginning of the adventure. They will be 24 tomorrow.”
13:32 – Virus among the Blues: Didier Deschamps tries to reassure on the eve of the final
Didier Deschamps appeared at a press conference this Saturday, December 17, 2022, on the eve of the World Cup final against Argentina. The coach of the France team wanted to be reassuring about the form and health of the players affected by the virus contracted by several players in the group: “It’s a subject that interests you, I understand that. We do so as to take as many precautions as possible, adapt and deal with it, without going overboard. It’s obviously a situation… If it could not have existed, it would be better, but we manage as well as possible. .”
On RMC, Alexandre Marles, former physical trainer for the France team, PSG and OL, tried to decipher what is going on within the group: “There have necessarily been fever, since if players missed the match against Morocco and training, there was a fever. It’s not a small cold that prevents you from going to training or playing a match. And who says fever, says dehydration, says fatigue, loss of appetite… It’s as if we had played a big game. A game against illness.”
The numbers of each player of the France team were revealed on November 15, just one week before their entry into the competition. Captain and goalkeeper of the team, Hugo Lloris wears the number 1. We note that the 9 was left to Olivier Giroud when Karim Benzema inherited the 19 before leaving the Blues on withdrawal. Antoine Griezmann wears the 7 and the 10 was offered to Kylian Mbappé.
Here is the ranking of the top scorers of the French football team with Olivier Giroud at the top of the hierarchy ahead of Thierry Henry: