International Football
Flu ravaged France battle to stop spread of virus on eve of World Cup final
France have not been overly troubled by the virus that has hit several players in the past few days, coach Didier Deschamps said, as the squad prepare to end their World Cup campaign on a high in Sunday’s final match against Argentina.
Central defensive pair Raphael Varane and Ibrahima Konate missed training on Friday due to illness, along with winger Kingsley Coman, while midfielder Adrien Rabiot and defender Dayot Upamecano did not play in Wednesday’s semi-final win over Morocco.
“We try to take the maximum precautions, to adapt and to deal with it, without going overboard. It is obviously a situation. If it wasn’t happening it would be better, but we manage as best we can with our medical staff,” Deschamps told a news conference on Saturday.
The coach and his captain Hugo Lloris both insisted they could not offer any further health updates as of Saturday morning.
“I am fine. As for the players, I left quite early this morning so they were all sleeping,” added Deschamps, who spoke at 11.30am local time.
“We are trying to handle the situation as well as possible and remain calm and focused. We’re looking forward to being ready for this important game.”
Later in the day, it was confirmed that Varane, Konate and Coman were present for training on Saturday. Rabiot and Upamecano had rejoined training on Friday.
Midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni and left-back Theo Hernandez, who also missed training on Friday because of knocks, were on the pitch.
Players, staff and other sources have spoken of a range of symptoms affecting the team in recent days, including fever, stomach pains and headaches. Reports have said it was partly because of the air-conditioning to keep players cool in the Qatar heat.
Measures have been taken at the team’s hotel, including isolating certain players, but Covid-19 testing is no longer imposed by world governing body Fifa.
On the pitch, France are aiming to become the first team since Brazil in 1962 to retain the World Cup.
The showdown at the Lusail Stadium will be Deschamps’ third World Cup final after he won it in 1998 as Les Bleus’ captain and then four years ago as their coach.
He oozed calm on Saturday despite the pressure of facing a team looking to give Lionel Messi his maiden title.
“I have no worries or stress. The important thing in preparing for a match like this is to remain calm,” said Deschamps.
Goalkeeper Lloris also said the game was bigger than just Messi.
“The event is too important to focus on one player. It’s a final between two great nations,” he said.
“When you face this kind of player (Messi), you have to pay attention to him, but this game is not just about him.”
France have shown they can adapt to any kind of team, which could be a big asset against Argentina, who have tested out several systems at these Finals.
“There will be a game plan to respect. We are still studying this team and preparing for this big game. There are always things we are not prepared for,” added Lloris.
“We need to be ready to go above and beyond. We know that we are capable of playing with possession and on the counter-attack. We have a lot of fast players. The strength of our team is that we can adapt.”
Win or lose against Argentina, France are going through a remarkable period of sustained success that began with their World Cup triumph in 1998 and continued with their Euro 2000 win.
Deschamps was not involved as Les Bleus reached the World Cup final again in 2006 and lost to Italy.
Now, as they look to make history in Doha, it is easy to forget France’s disastrous 2010 campaign and that they were not seen as contenders for major honours when Deschamps took over in 2012.
But he has now led them to three finals in four major tournaments, with Euro 2016 ending in an agonising extra-time loss to Portugal.
France also won the 2021 Nations League, and their last-16 exit at Euro 2020 looks like an anomaly.
Deschamps’ management has been key, even though he played down his personal role after the 2-0 semi-final win over Morocco.
“I’m not the most important,” he said. “It is about the French national team.”
–AFP/Reuters
Representatives from four national players’ unions on Thursday launched a new global organisation in Madrid, which they say will strengthen footballers’ rights and improve dialogue with governing bodies.
Opening a new front in the battle over who speaks for players, the International Footballers’ Association (AIF) was unveiled, with David Aganzo, president of Spain’s Association of Footballers (AFE) and a former head of the global union FIFPRO, appointed to lead the organisation.
Players’ unions from Brazil, Mexico and Switzerland were also represented.
The initiative drew a swift rebuke from FIFPRO, which said in a statement that Aganzo was acting out of self-interest and aligning himself with organisations linked to football governing bodies, as well as groups expelled from FIFPRO over alleged mismanagement.
Aganzo rejected the criticism, saying he “will not seek confrontation with FIFPRO”.
The launch comes amid strained relations between players’ unions and football authorities, particularly over the expanding international match calendar.
Relations between FIFA and FIFPRO deteriorated in 2024 after the union lodged a complaint with the European Commission, arguing that the global governing body was abusing its dominant position by adding competitions without sufficient consultation.
Aganzo denied suggestions that the new initiative was backed by FIFA president Gianni Infantino, but said “direct dialogue with FIFA” was essential.
AFE’s Extraordinary General Assembly approved the initiative in February with 99.8% of votes cast in favour of spearheading the creation of the AIF.
The same assembly also backed AFE’s withdrawal from FIFPRO, citing what it described as a “complete lack of transparency, as well as its total lack of dialogue with international bodies.”
“We represent over 30,000 footballers, and we come here with a new model aimed at safeguarding players’ rights and facilitating direct communication with all international bodies,” Aganzo told reporters.
“We are in contact with 15 to 20 unions already who were very aware of this moment and waiting for this announcement to make their move and join our initiative.”
He declined to identify any unions beyond those present.
Asked about a report that a senior envoy to U.S. President Donald Trump had urged FIFA to replace Iran with Italy at the upcoming World Cup, Aganzo urged caution.
“These are more political issues; on April 30th, I’ll be speaking to Gianni (Infantino) at the FIFA Congress, and we will discuss those things,” Aganzo said.
“People who want to go to the World Cup have to earn their place on sporting merit.”
-Reuters
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A new trial over the death of Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona will begin on Tuesday, with seven members of his medical team charged with negligent homicide nearly a year after a previous case collapsed in a mistrial.
An enduring presence in Argentina – from towering murals to tattoos, opens new tab – Maradona died on November 25, 2020, at 60, after a heart attack while he was recuperating from brain surgery to remove a blood clot.
A court in San Isidro, near Buenos Aires, will hear testimony from just under 100 witnesses as it tries Maradona’s medical team over alleged negligence in the death of the 1986 World Cup champion.
His medical team has denied wrongdoing. The defendants are psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque, psychologist Carlos Angel Diaz, physician Nancy Edith Forlini, nurse Ricardo Almiron, head nurse Mariano Ariel Perroni, and physician Pedro Pablo Di Spagna. An eighth defendant, nurse Dahiana Madrid, will be tried in a separate jury trial, with no date yet set.
Two months into the first trial, which started last March, a mistrial was declared when one of three judges, Julieta Makintach, resigned after video surfaced showing her being interviewed by a camera crew in the corridors of the courthouse and in her office as part of a documentary, in breach of judicial rules.
The retrial will require both prosecutors and defense lawyers to reassess their strategies after the first trial aired photographs, videos, audio recordings and forensic evidence. Many witnesses, including Maradona’s children and his former wife, Claudia Villafane, have already testified.
Prosecutors argued in the initial trial that medical professionals broke treatment protocols and that the home where Maradona was recovering from surgery amounted to a “theatre of horror,” where necessary care was not provided.
The defense countered that his death was inevitable given his longstanding health problems. Maradona struggled for decades with cocaine and alcohol addiction.
The negligence charges emerged in 2021 after prosecutors appointed a medical board to investigate Maradona’s death. The panel concluded his medical team acted in an “inappropriate, deficient and reckless” manner.
-Reuters
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Aliou Cisse has been named coach of the Angola national team, the country’s football federation (FAF) announced on Thursday, 24 hours after the Senegalese left his post in Libya.
The 50-year-old coach, who led Senegal to their maiden Africa Cup of Nations title in 2022, ended his short stint with the Libyan national team on Wednesday, after taking charge in March 2025.
“Welcome, Aliou Cisse, head coach of the Angola national team,” the FAF said on Facebook. Angola, which failed to reach this year’s World Cup, will start their 2027 AFCON qualifying campaign in September.
-Reuters
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