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
International Football
Former Brazil coach Tite taking break to take care of mental, physical health
Former Brazil coach Tite said he is taking an indefinite career break in order to take care of his mental and physical health.
The 63-year-old, who led Brazil to the 2019 Copa America title, was hospitalised due to a heart issue last August. He was sacked by Flamengo the following month and had most recently been linked with the Corinthians job.
“I realised that there are times when you have to understand that, as a human being, I can be vulnerable and admitting that will certainly make me stronger,” Tite said in a statement posted on his son Matheus Bachi’s Instagram on Tuesday.
“I’m passionate about what I do and I’ll continue to be so, but after talking to my family and observing the signals my body was giving off, I decided that the best thing to do now is to take a break from my career to look after myself for as long as it takes.
“As has become public, there was a conversation in progress with Corinthians, but it will have to be paralysed by a difficult but necessary decision.”
Tite, who stepped down as Brazil coach after their quarter-final exit from the 2022 World Cup, has previously coached a string of Brazilian sides including Gremio, Atletico Mineiro and Palmeiras.
-Reuters
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Brazil have sacked head coach Dorival Jr, the country’s football confederation (CBF) said on Friday after the five-time world champions were thrashed 4-1 away to fierce rivals Argentina in a humiliating qualifying loss in Buenos Aires.
The 62-year-old was appointed in January 2024 after the team spent a year under two caretaker coaches as the Brazilian FA were unable to lure Italian Carlo Ancelotti from Real Madrid.
“The Brazilian Football Confederation informs that coach Dorival Jr is no longer in charge of the Brazilian national team,” the confederation said in a statement.
“The management thanks (Dorival) and wishes him success in continuing his career … the CBF will work to find his replacement,” it added.
Dorival was handed the job after his success with Flamengo in 2022 where he won the Copa Libertadores and Brazilian Cup, a trophy he lifted again the next year with Sao Paulo.
However, he never seemed to get to grips with the national team job and failed to earn the trust of Brazil’s demanding fans after winning only seven of his 16 games in charge.
Sources told Reuters the CBF was not confident in Dorival’s work, considering there had been little to no progress since a lacklustre Copa America campaign when Brazil were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Uruguay last year.
Still, the CBF was willing to wait and see until the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Ecuador and Paraguay in June to reassess the situation following the end of the European season and the Club World Cup in the U.S. in June and July.
But after Brazil slumped to their heaviest-ever loss in a qualifier when they were thrashed by Argentina this week, CBF president Ednaldo Rodrigues decided to pull the trigger.
IDEAL CANDIDATE
Sources told Reuters Ancelotti was still the ideal candidate but he is under contract with Real until July 2026 and there is no indication he would leave the European and Spanish champions.
Brazilian media have reported that Al Hilal’s Portuguese coach Jorge Jesus is the favourite to replace Dorival.
Brazil have been in unfamiliar territory for over two years since crashing out of the 2022 World Cup against Croatia on penalties in the quarter-finals, a heartbreaking elimination that led to the exit of long-time manager Tite.
Their humbling defeat in Buenos Aires was the latest of a series of negative records Brazil have set under caretakers Ramon Menezes and Fernando Diniz and with Dorival in charge. They had never conceded four goals in a World Cup qualifier.
Brazil are in the midst of their worst-ever World Cup qualifying campaign. They are fourth in the South American standings with 21 points, a point above sixth-placed Colombia who currently occupy the final direct qualifying berth.
Never have Brazil lost so many games, conceded so many goals or set so many negative records in the qualifying competition. They have lost five of their 14 games and conceded 16 goals.
Brazil’s 1-0 defeat by Argentina in the Maracana late in 2023 was their first-ever qualifying loss on home soil.
They also lost to Colombia for the first time, saw the end of their unbeaten run against Uruguay stretching back over two decades and were defeated by Morocco and Senegal, having never previously lost to an African nation.
-Reuters
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International Football
England’s German manager Tuchel will not sing the English anthem in his first game
England manager Thomas Tuchel said he would have to “earn the right” to sing the national anthem, God Save the King, after announcing his 26-man squad on Friday ahead of the team’s World Cup qualifiers.
Tuchel, who was appointed as Gareth Southgate’s successor in October and named his first squad to face Albania and Latvia this month, said he would not sing the anthem in his first games in charge.
“It means a lot to me, I can assure you, but I can feel that because it is so meaningful and it is so emotional and it is so powerful, the national anthem, that I have to earn my right to sing it,” the 51-year-old German told a news conference.
Former caretaker manager Lee Carsley was criticised last year for not singing the anthem during his tenure.
However, Tuchel added that while he is proud to be in charge of the team and knows the words to the anthem, he plans to earn the right with results.
“Maybe I have to dive more into the culture and earn my right from you, from the players, from the supporters, so everyone feels like ‘he should sing it now, he’s one of our own, he’s the English manager, he should sing it’,” he said.
-Reuters
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