Olivier Giroud and Raphael Varane have doubts about the World Cup final after being left out of a training squad

There are doubts about the fitness of Raphael Varane and Olivier Giroud after the pair were not included in a team for France’s closed training session.

Les Bleus are preparing to take on Lionel Scaloni’s Argentines in Sunday’s World Cup final.

Varane is known to have been suffering from a virus that was spreading around the French camp but was believed to have recovered. However, L’Equipe report that Dayot Upamecano trained ahead of him on Saturday.

Olivier Giroud is an injury doubt for the World Cup final after being ruled out of a training squad

Manchester United star Raphael Varane was also dropped from the team by Didier Deschamps

Marcus Thuram also came on for Olivier Giroud, who became France’s record goalscorer early in the tournament and scored the winning goal in the quarter-finals win over England.

He has scored four times at this tournament so far, a tally surpassed only by Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi.

If the pair are unavailable on Sunday, they will be sorely missed as Giroud’s presence has been key in getting the best out of Mbappe and a defensive switch on the eve of a clash with Messi is far from ideal.

He could become the first man since 1938 to win consecutive world championships as a coach

It’s possible both missed training as a precaution, but it still puts the French in a difficult position ahead of their second consecutive World Cup final.

A win on Sunday would be historic for Didier Deschamps’ men. That would make him the first manager since 1938 to win back-to-back world titles and Kylian Mbappe the youngest since Pele to win two tournaments as a player.

Standing in their way is Messi, a man keen to win the one trophy he eluded and the only caveat in the comparison between him and Diego Maradona.