France’s confirmed starting lineup for the World Cup final vs Argentina
Which Les Bleus players will play in the World Cup final against Argentina?
France will go into battle on Sunday 18 December against Argentina at the Lusail Stadium, the prize: a third World Cup winner star on their shirt and the golden trophy that is so iconic across the planet. Kylian Mbappé will no doubt have weight of the nation on his young shoulders; Messi does not look tired yet from carrying his for a decade and more, and the showpiece event has even been marked as a ‘present king vs future king’ debate-settling clash.
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Les Blues arrive at the 64th game of the tournament (have you watched them all?) on the back of a ruthless 2-0 victory over Morocco, sending the Atlas Lions, and our hearts, on a plane to Africa. For that game, they were without Adrien Rabiot (cold) and Dayot Upamecano (sore throat). It wasn’t known, at least by myself, how widely available cough syrup is in Qatar but they must eventually have found some.
France team news
Rabiot and Upamecano took part in full training on Saturday, as did Kingsley Coman, Raphaël Varane and Ibrahima Konaté, who all subsequently suffered similar symptoms of what was being described as Camel Flu. The main selection issue for Didier Deschamps was striker Olivier Giroud, who has scored four goals and helped bring out the best of Mbappé but was reportedly a doubt because of a knee problem. The Milan striker is fit and will start.
Some suggestions have been made that Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema could make an even more spectacular return than that of the Dragon in Shrek 2, after he recovered from an injury that saw him leave the French training camp just before the tournament began. When asked about it, Deschamps replied “next question” with a slightly exhausted look on his face and subsequent reports claim the relationship between player and coach isn’t the best, so it seems unlikely.
France confirmed starting XI:
Lloris
Koundé - Varane - Upamecano - Theo
Griezmann - Tchouaméni - Rabiot
Dembélé - Giroud - Mbappé