Coach Deschamps: 'It's harder to accompany Messi now'

*Argentina - France: 10pm Sunday, December 18, on MetaSports.

When discussing with midfielder Adil Rami, who attended the 2018 World Cup with France, coach Deschamps shared: "We played against Messi, remember? We will have to think about the option to disable him again. Four years ago, we thought he would play to the right, but he played as a centre-forward. Now he plays as a playmaker, with more freedom, so it will be more difficult to target. It's easier if he's unwell, of course I don't expect that to happen."

Four years ago, France beat Argentina 4-3 in the round of 16 of the 2018 World Cup, and then went straight to the championship. Messi then kicked the highest in attack and failed to score, while Kylian Mbappe scored twice for France. But according to coach Deschamps, Argentina is now stronger than four years ago, and Messi is playing better. In Argentina's six games at the tournament, Messi was voted Best Player four times.

In the 2022 World Cup, Messi is competing for the title of Top Scorer as well as the World Cup Golden Ball with Mbappe, when both are having five goals. While Messi aspires to win the World Cup for the first time, Mbappe is also full of energy to join France as the first team to defend the Gold Cup in 60 years. "After the final, one of the two teams will have a third star on their shirt," coach Deschamps said of the team that won at Lusail next Sunday will win the World Cup for the third time.

The disadvantage came to the French team at the most important stage, when they were attacked by the flu epidemic. According to the French military leader, the training team and the medical team are taking all necessary precautions to prevent the flu virus from spreading in the team. "The players were exhausted on the pitch, and clearly their immune systems were affected," he added.

Midfielder Adrien Rabiot and centre-back Dayot Upamecano - regular starters in the France squad - had to sit out the semi-final against Morocco due to illness. In which, Rabiot was isolated at the hotel, and Upamecano sat on the bench for 90 minutes. After the game, Deschamps confirmed Kingsley Coman - who also did not play - had a fever with similar symptoms. "Dayot recovered and returned to training, but his fitness declined. Adrien has not shown any positive signs," coach Deschamps said about Upamecano and Rabiot. "France still has time to prepare, hopefully they will come back in time."