Varane off Injured as France Draw vs Iceland

Mighty world champions France needed a substitute cameo appearance from Kylian Mpabbe to salvage a draw agaisnt Iceland. Raphael Varane only played 45 minutes and left the match with France down by one goal. According to reports from the French camp, Varane felt discomfort and is now a major doubt for the Uefa Nations League match agaisnt Germany on Tuesday. For Madrid fans, risking injury agaisnt Germany would only add more fuel to the fire, with the clubs injury woes only growing during this difficult patch in the season.

During Varane’s 45 minutes on the pitch, he was the best of a shaky France backline. Both sides—Iceland and France— were able to create multiple goal scoring opportunities with Iceland being the more clinical. Varane had no fault in the opening goal. Kimpembe ventured out to the left back position to cover for Digne and lost a 1 v 1 duel with Finnbogason which arguably could have been called a foul. Nonetheless, Iceland played on and slotted a low driven pass right outside the top of the box for Bjarnason to slot away with a Toni Kroos-esque finish.

Iceland were heading for victory for the majority of the match and were 2-0 up until the 85th minute. Kylian Mpabbe was once again the star for France as he was substituted into this match and turned the game on it’s head. He scored the first goal via a deflection in the 85th minute and then dispatched the penalty in added time to break Iceland’s heart and salvage a draw.

All attention now turns to Varane and his impending medical report. Madridistas will be hoping it’s a niggle, but enough to see him sit out Tuesday’s match vs Germany.