Doubts linger about the availability of France pair Adrien Rabiot and Dayot Upamecano after both came down with illness on the eve of Wednesday’s World Cup semi-final against Morocco.
The Les Bleus duo both reportedly caught colds from the air-conditioning in Qatar, used inside stadiums due to the searing heat, but L’Equipe claims they are “doing better”.
According to the report, France team officials are optimistic about their involvement for the game, with Upamecano joining teammates for breakfast on Wednesday. Rabiot appears more unwell.
Ibrahima Konate and Youssouf Fofana loom as their respective replacements should they not be cleared to play.
Meanwhile, France boss Didier Deschamps was full of praise for Morocco who have become the first African nation to make the World Cup semi-finals.
The Atlas Lions have been led by Walid Regragui who made history as the first African coach to take a team to the World Cup quarter-finals.
“It’s fantastic what (Regragui) has achieved,” Deschamps said. “Morocco have played and beaten some of the best teams in the world, and that’s down to the players, the coach, the staff.
“It’s a historic achievement. It’s not a surprise now because we’ve seen them put in a number of top performances.
“They haven’t stolen the victories; they’ve deserved them.”
Indeed, Morocco topped Group F featuring Croatia and Belgium, collecting seven points in the group with only one goal conceded.
They have since toppled Spain and Portugal, not conceding a goal in either game.
France’s run to the semis has been strong, cruising to qualification after two games with wins over Australia and Denmark, before losing to Tunisia when fielding a weakened side.
Les Bleus then knocked out Poland 3-1, followed by a tight 2-1 win over England, where Harry Kane spurned a late penalty.
“We can be satisfied with what we’ve done so far, even though we want to go further,” Deschamps said.
“In the past, the world champions haven’t always done well in World Cups and we’ve overcome that challenge, but we have an important game on Wednesday.”
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