France squad hit with illness, two starters skip training ahead of FIFA World Cup semi-final vs Morocco: Report

Ahead of France’s FIFA World Cup 2022 semi-final vs Morocco, Didier Deschamps has been given a major selection dilemma with two starters suffering from illness. The defending champions defeated England in their quarter-final fixture, sealing a 2-1 victory at the Al Bayt Stadium. In a closely-fought encounter, Aurelien Tchouameni scored in the 17th-minute as France took a 1-0 lead. But then England captain Harry Kane equalised in the 54th-minute from the penalty spot. With the match looking like it would enter extra-time, Oliver Giroud grabbed the winner for France, making it 2-1 through a header in the 78th-minute. Kane was given another chance to equalise with a penalty kick, but he sent it over the crossbar.

With their preparations hit on the eve of their semi-final, The Sun reported that Dayot Upamecano and Adrien Rabiot were forced to skip training on Tuesday and are serious doubts for the upcoming match. The report also further revealed that Upamecano missed training on Monday too, due to a sore throat.

Also Read | Lionel Messi to lift WC trophy for Argentina in Qatar? Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s ‘already written’ remark burns the internet

In Qatar, Rabiot has played in all five matches, scoring a goal and registering an assist. Meanwhile, Upamecano was rested for the group stage encounter vs Tunisia.

Ahead of their semi-final clash, France captain Hugo Lloris revealed that his side are wary of Morocco’s threat. “We can only have respect and admiration for what they have done, but nothing happens by chance at this level. When a team is capable of beating Belgium, Spain and Portugal, and finish top of their group, it is because they have lots of quality on the field and undoubtedly off it too, in terms of cohesion and team spirit. They will be formidable opponents, and on top of that there will be a hostile atmosphere in the stadium”, he said.