The bubble was not enough.
The isolation of the Blues in Clairefontaine, for most of last week, will not have prevented the Covid-19 from inviting itself into this first gathering of the Blues of the season.
After Steve Mandanda last Friday, it was Kylian Mbappé who tested positive for the coronavirus on Monday, adding to the long list of footballers already infected.
This second positive case affecting a major player in the workforce of the Blues reminds us to what extent the threat of Sars Cov 2 hangs over our societal life and spares no one.
As with Mandanda last weekend, the question of where to hold the match immediately arose.
Because even if Didier Deschamps had not planned to start Mbappé at the kickoff, the Parisian striker has rubbed shoulders with his partners throughout the last few days.
We even saw him embrace his club teammate Presnel Kimpembe during the last training this Monday evening at the Stade de France ...
However, the match against Croatia, counting for the second day of the League of Nations, will take place.
UEFA provides that if each team is able to have a squad of 13 days including a goalkeeper, the meeting can be held.
This is the case of the Blues who, to date, have only two positive cases: Mbappé and Mandanda and again the latter has been replaced by Benoît Costil, the Bordeaux goalkeeper.
The European body does not admit any derogation, and last week, it refused to cancel the meeting between the Czech Republic and Scotland (1-2) which was finally held on Monday evening.
However, the Czech leaders wanted to cancel the meeting after having detected two players positive for Covid-19 in their workforce.
Camavinga is biding its time
This reunion between France and Croatia, the finalists of the last World Cup, will therefore take place in a heavy atmosphere, and this will not be simply due to the closed session decreed by UEFA for all matches of the League of nations.
Difficult to imagine that these defections do not weigh in the minds of the French players even if, as Hugo Lloris repeated, they must "adapt".
There remains this match to be played for which Didier Deschamps repeated that he was going to make “a lot of changes”.
Without his audience, without Mbappé and a large part of his players frame at the kickoff, the interest of this meeting moves on the usual linings.
Some players like Anthony Martial, whose big comeback is with the Blues, will benefit from playing time that they might not have expected and have a first card to play for the next Euro 2021.
Newsletter - Most of the news
Every morning, the news seen by Le Parisien
I'm registering
Your email address is collected by Le Parisien to enable you to receive our news and commercial offers.
Learn more
The stake of this strange meeting is also historical.
Eduardo Camavinga (17) can indeed hope to celebrate his first selection and become the youngest post-war player to wear the blue jersey.
"I have no objection to him having a few minutes of play," underlined Didier Deschamps for whom the talent is ageless.
There are however on the side of Croatia where Luka Modric (34 years old) and Ivan Rakitic (32 years old) have not been summoned for this rally.
Without its two masters to play, Croatia conceded four goals in Portugal last Saturday (loss 1-4).
We are so far from Russia.