Raphael Varane says reaching a second career World Cup final is a “very emotional” achievement for him, after the defender helped France beat Morocco 2-0 in Wednesday's semi-final to set up a showdown with Argentina on Sunday.
Varane nearly missed the tournament due to a knee injury picked up in Manchester United ’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea in October, the centre-half leaving the Stamford Bridge pitch in tears fearing the worst. But he won the race against time to make it into Dider Deschamps’ squad, although sat out the opening 4-1 win over Australia.
He has started every game since and kept his country’s first clean sheet of the tournament against Morocco. Varane was integral to France’s 2018 success, when they beat Croatia 4-2 in the final. He played in every match of their triumph four years ago too and will play his 18th World Cup game on Sunday in what will be his 93rd cap for Les Bleus.
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Speaking after Wednesday’s semi-final win, Varane unpacked his feelings while also envisioning what will happen in the final itself. Speaking to Marca, he said: "Living these moments is something incredible, but living it twice is something that is very emotional.
"There is no favourite in the final, it is a huge game with a lot of pressure and we will have to play a great game". Varane could be lining up against United centre-back partner Lisandro Martinez this weekend.
The 24-year-old has played in five of the six matches Argentina have played in Qatar albeit has only started two of them. He was benched for the 3-0 semi-final win over Croatia on Tuesday and may start the final on the sidelines too.
This weekend will be Lionel Messi’s last chance to get his hands on football’s biggest prize with the 35-year-old confirming this week that the final will be his last ever World Cup game as a player.
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