It is believed that the staff members of the French national team have been inoculated against COVID-19 before Euro 2020 kicks off next month. Head coach Didier Deschamps confirmed this development on May 26 and also revealed that French Football Federation hadn’t made such a plan for the players involved.
“The whole staff has been vaccinated but nothing has been organised for the players,” Deschamps told the media at a news conference as the squad gathered for the first time at France’s national training camp in Clairefontaine. “Getting vaccinated is a personal decision. Some players might have been vaccinated. We know that vaccination is the only way to fight against the virus.”
However, France’s star player and 2018 World Cup winner Kylian Mbappe has been vaccinated against COVID-19 before he joined the French squad to prepare for the European Championship.
Mbappe posted a photo on his Twitter pointing at his arm and added vaccine emojis to show that he had been inoculated.
In France, every adult is eligible for vaccines against COVID-19 and people under the age of 50 will also be able to book any slot they want for vaccination from Tuesday onwards.
Players of the Italian national team are also believed to have taken their second doses in Milan and Rome on Monday before joining the national training camp in Sardinia. Belgium’s players and staff might also be vaccinated this week.
Before their Euro 2020 tournament opener against Germany in Munich on June 15, France will take part in two friendly matches. They will take on Wales in Nice on June 2 and will be up against Bulgaria on June 8 at the Stade de France in Paris. As of this moment, the priority of the side is to get every footballer into the best physical shape possible after a long and exhaustive season of club football.
“We are in the first part of the preparation. We need to put gas in the engine,” said Deschamps. “All the players are not at the same level of fitness and our job is to get all of them to the best possible condition.”
France have been drawn in Group F of the Euro Cup alongside Germany, Hungary and Portugal.
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