Football News: France's Adrien Rabiot, Dayot Upamecano doubtful for World Cup semi-final

Due to sickness, France's Adrien Rabiot and Dayot Upamecano are both reportedly questionable for Wednesday's World Cup 2022 semifinal match against Morocco.

In Didier Deschamps' first XI throughout Les Bleus' run to the final four and as France seek to become just the third team in history to win back-to-back World Cups, both players have been constants.

With Aurelien Tchouameni, a midfield partner of Juventus, Rabiot has excelled in Qatar, scoring once and assisting once in five games thus far. Raphael Varane's first-choice center-back partner has emerged from Bayern Munich's Upamecano, who beat out rivals like William Saliba and Ibrahima Konate. Upamecano has also started four games for the defending champions.

Rabiot and Upamecano may not play against Morocco in the semi-finals, according to L'Equipe, as a result of their exposure to the continual air conditioning in Qatar.

According to reports, Rabiot and Upamecano did not attend training on Tuesday. The latter was also reportedly unable to participate in the session on Monday due to symptoms, including a sore throat.

Although he has already caught the illness as well, Rabiot was able to participate with his teammates on Monday. The French Football Federation has confirmed that both players stayed indoors yesterday.

Deschamps should have all of his players available for Wednesday's crucial matchup because there is not believed to be a larger spread of virus in the France camp.

In the event that Upamecano is rejected, Konate is anticipated to be chosen to join Varane, while Youssouf Fofana is the most likely contender to take Rabiot's place in the midfield.

Injuries plagued France both before and during the competition; Paul Pogba, N'Golo Kante, and Mike Maignan were all ruled out before Deschamps revealed his team. Presnel Kimpembe was also forced to withdraw owing to an Achilles issue, and Karim Benzema and Christopher Nkunku withdrew due to injuries they sustained during training.

Nkunku suffered a major knee injury during France's penultimate practise at Clairefontaine before departing for Qatar, and Benzema had just returned to team practise when he injured his thigh.

The Ballon d'Or winner is currently back in Real Madrid's training sessions, but because France never replaced him after his withdrawal, Benzema is still eligible for selection for the semi-final and third-place playoff or final.

While everything was going on, Lucas Hernandez's World Cup only lasted 13 minutes due to an ACL tear he sustained during their opening Group D encounter against Australia. As a result, brother Theo Hernandez filled in for Lucas Hernandez for the duration of the tournament.

Defenders Nayef Aguerd, Romain Saiss, and Noussair Mazraoui are also a concern for African trailblazers Morocco, and manager Walid Regragui gave a health update in his pre-game press conference.

For more Sports updates please follow us on Twitter