Earlier World Cup appearances: 15
Greatest end: Winners (1998, 2018)
World Cup report: W34 D13 L19
Targets: 120
Greatest win: 7-3 vs Paraguay (1958)
Participant to observe: Kylian Mbappe
Rating: 4
Fixtures: Australia (November 22), Denmark (November 26), Tunisia (November 30)
Les Bleus will head into the World Cup with excessive hopes regardless of a string of poor outcomes that noticed them narrowly miss relegation from the Nations League.
The reigning world champions have received simply as soon as of their final six fixtures, however nonetheless head to Qatar as one of many favourites.
France Supervisor Didier Deschamps might be compelled to make a few adjustments to his crew with common starters N’Golo Kante and Paul Pogba lacking out as a consequence of harm.
With France boasting a humiliation of riches in midfield, Deschamps could have loads of gamers to name upon, together with the 22-year-old Aurelien Tchouameni, who has impressed at Actual Madrid.
France will anticipate to progress from Group D, the place they’ve been drawn with Tunisia, Denmark, and Australia. It’s virtually a replica of their group within the World Cup 2018, the place they had been drawn with Denmark, Australia and Peru and topped the group with seven factors.
Les Bleus on the World Cup
Les Bleus’ first profitable event got here on the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, the place striker Simply Fountaine would rating 13 targets in six matches.
France could be soundly overwhelmed 5-2 within the semi-final by eventual winners Brazil.
It was within the Eighties that France actually introduced itself on the worldwide stage, ending fourth and third within the 1982 and 1986 World Cups, respectively, and in addition successful the 1984 European Championships.
This France crew included the likes of the midfield maestro Michel Platini and defender Marius Trésor and performed a high-intensity soccer that produced among the World Cup’s most dramatic matches, together with the well-known 3-3 semi-final towards West Germany in 1982.
This golden era would ultimately give strategy to a France crew that did not qualify for the following two World Cups, and the nation must wait till 1998 when it hosted the World Cup for the second time in its historical past.
The 1998 crew, which included Thierry Henry, David Trezeguet and Zinedine Zidane, would go on to win the event in emphatic model, beating Brazil 3-0 within the closing and ushering in a brand new interval of dominance that may see them choose up one other European Championship in 2000.
After being knocked out within the group levels of the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan, adopted by a quarter-final exit to hosts and eventual winners Greece within the 2002 European Championships, France would as soon as once more attain the World Cup closing in 2004. The tense match towards Italy ended 1-1 and would see France lose 5-3 on penalties however will in the end be finest remembered for the notorious headbutt by Zidane on Marco Materazzi.
A fractious 2010 World Cup in South Africa noticed Les Bleus exit on the group levels.
Inside turmoil sparked, partly as a consequence of a participant’s boycott of coaching after Raymond Domenech dismissed Nicolas Anelka after the striker swore at him and overtly criticised him. An improved efficiency in Brazil in 2014 would in the end finish in disappointment as France went out to Germany within the quarter-finals.
In 2018, following a second place on the 2016 European Championships, France would declare their second World Cup gold on the event in Russia, beating Croatia 4-2 within the closing.
Expectations
As one of many event’s favourites, France will anticipate to make not less than the semi-finals, if not the ultimate.
Les Bleus ought to make it via their group with relative ease. Within the subsequent part, they’ll possible come up towards Poland or Mexico, adopted by a possible matchup with England, the Netherlands or Senegal if there are not any main upsets.
Within the semi-final, they might meet the likes of Brazil, Belgium or Germany.
Boasting a squad brimming with world-class expertise, they should be thought of an actual contender to win the World Cup. Nonetheless, since Brazil defended their title in 1962, no nation has repeated this feat.