Olivier Giroud could start on the BENCH in France’s World Cup final clash with Argentina as Deschamps mulls shock change
FRANCE could make a shock roll of the dice in the World Cup final by dropping Olivier Giroud to the bench.
Giroud has started five games out of six for Les Bleus in Qatar, but after seeing himself substituted in the 65th minute of the semi-final against Morocco his place in the team is now in jeopardy.
Didier Deschamps gave Marcus Thuram a run out against the North African nation.
And this move proved to be effective as they appeared more lively without the former Arsenal and Chelsea ace on the pitch.
While Giroud has been an ever-present for France at both the 2018 World Cup and this year’s tournament, Deschamps could now change up his formula in an effort to beat Argentina.
French outlet L’Equipe have reported that during the first part of France training today, Deschamps experimented by playing Thuram on the left flank and placing Kylian Mbappe through the centre.
Another change to his usual team saw Dayot Upamecano and Ibrahima Konate paired in central defence.
Such a move could indicate Raphael Varane may not be available for the final owing to his recent battle with illness.
But if he is fit to play then it would be very surprising to see one of the key figures of the victorious 2018 campaign and their Qatar run to the final not play.
The France camp have been ravaged in recent days by a flu-like virus spreading among the group, throwing a dent into their preparations.
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Reports earlier today revealed Varane and Konate were present at lunch with the rest of the team while Kingsley Coman was still ill.
Furthermore, injuries to Aurelien Tchouameni (hip) and Theo Hernandez (knee) added to the French woes as FIVE stars missed training yesterday.
However, all of them returned to training tonight to hand Deschamps a timely boost to his hopes of making France the first champions to successfully defend the title since Brazil in 1962.
Meanwhile, the manager lashed out at a reporter for asking about the whether Karim Benzema will return to the squad.