We could expect one of the two players to participate in collective training on Thursday evening. But neither Karim Benzema (muscular gene) nor Raphaël Varane (thigh) could touch the ball, outside of warm-up, at the Al-Sadd stadium in Doha. The Madrilenian and the Mancunian slipped away with Cyril Moine, the physical trainer of the Blues.
A novelty all the same, the two men were able to work on accelerations with changes of direction, which they had not been able to do at Clairefontaine at the start of the week during the first sessions. The defender remains in spite of everything in the passage times of his return. To hope to participate in the first meeting against Australia on Tuesday, Varane must validate an entire collective session between Friday and Saturday.