Team Preview: France looking forward to prove critics wrong

France are always estimated to do well at the world cup as they are considered to be one of the powerhouses  of world football. Since winning the World Cup in 1998 at their own backyard, France have always been one of the favorites to win the title.

Although in the last decade, the French have not performed well in the international circuit, the 2006 World Cup being the only exception. Since winning Euro 2000, Les Bleus unit haven’t  coped up with the expectation. Be it the Euros or the World Cup.

The previous World cup witnessed a chain of controversies within the team. The problems inside the team had an unpleasant outcome on the team’s performance. They were knocked out from the group stage and after the World Cup, coach Raymond Domenech submitted his resignation and Laurent Blanc had taken the task of managing the team. But not anything has altered as France performed disastrously in Euro Cup 2012.

Plenty of expectations from the World winning captain Didier Deschamps, and the country expects him to deliver a reasonable show at this year’s World Cup.

Road to World Cup

France were positioned in the Group I of UEFA qualifying region along with defending champions Spain, Finland, Georgia and Belarus. They started their ride way back in 2012. Les Bleus won most of their matches persuasively against the other weaker teams. Their lone threat was against the strong Spain, against whom they drew one game and lost one. France only faltered in their away draw against Georgia when it finished in a goalless draw.

France finished the group phase in second position just 2 points behind Spain and as an outcome were required to play play-offs in order to get World Cup ticket. They faced Ukraine in the play-off fixture. Ukraine unexpectedly drubbed the 1998 champions 2-0 and stunned the world. This meant Les Bleus required a miracle to qualify to the World Cup final rounds. The French footballers came back stalwartly from a 0-2 loss to pull off a splendid 3-0 win at their home turf to make it to a World Cup on the basis of better aggregate.

Squad

French coach Didier Deschamp has announced the 23-man squad on May 14. The declaration of squad  sparked the few controversies concerning to certain unexpected exclusions – Samir Nasri being the most famous. No one had anticipated that the Manchester City midfielder would not be the part of World Cup squad despite having a shining season with the English Premier League champions.

Another famous name who was not included was Manchester City left-back Gael Clichy, who had been an important part of the French national side.

But largely, the France squad look extraordinary. They have the likes of Franc Ribery, Karim Benzema, Olivier Giroud and Yohan Cabaye which displays the experience of the side. Paul Pogba, Sissoko, Loic Remy on the other hand brings in the energy of youth into the team.

Goalkeepers: Mickaël Landreau, Hugo Lloris, Steve Mandanda.

Defenders: Mathieu Debuchy, Lucas Digne, Patrice Evra, Laurent Koscielny, Eliaquim Mangala, Bacary Sagna,  Mamadou Sakho, Raphaël Varane.

Midfielders: Yohan Cabaye, Clément Grenier, Blaise Matuidi, Rio Mavuba, Paul Pogba, Moussa Sissoko, Mathieu Valbuena.

Forwards: Karim Benzema, Olivier Giroud, Antoine Griezmann, Loïc Rémy, Franck Ribéry.

Coach

Didier Deschamps is the most successful captain in the history of  French football. He lead the French team to 1998 World Cup and 2000 Euro Cup title. Deschamp represented various clubs which included, Marseille, Juventus, Chelsea, etc. As a manager he had been head  of AS Monaco, Juventus and Marseille. Deschamps took over the managerial responsibility of the national side just after the Euro 2012, after the then manager, Laurent Blanc resigned. 

Formation and  Strategy

Didier Deschamps is famous for deploying two strikers up front in his whole coaching career. But the French coach may follow the classic European strategy and field the side with only one striker. Karim Benzema, the Real Madrid chap is likely to begin, with Giroud and Remy in the bench. Benzema had been in magnificent form all through the season and scored 26 goals in a Real Madrid dress this season. He is expected to perform likewise at the World Cup for his nation.

4-2-3-1/4-3-3

Deschamps will probably pick  this formation which is the most general and flexible formation in the world presently. This formation helps shielding the defence and also helps the assault straightaway. The two defensive midfielders, Paul Pogba and Blaise Matuidi would play a key task in the side. With Pogba’s energy in the midfield, France would certainly get advantage from the formation. Plenty  is anticipated from the Juventus midfielder who would also be responsible for the vital passes to the strikers upfront. Pogba’s capability to play as a box-to-box midfielder adds effectiveness to the Les Bleus side. He has defensive character, attacking flairs and scoring abilities.

Franc Ribery, Mathieu Valbuena and Yohan Cabaye would work as support structure to Karim Benzema. Ribery, who ended third in this year’s Ballon d’Or would be the most vital player in France’s attacking third.

Best Starting XI

Goalkeeper: Hugo Lloris

Defenders: Bacari Sagna, Raphael Varane, Laurent Koscielnt, Patrice Evra

Midfielders: Paul Pogba,  Blaise Matuidi, Mathieu Valbuena, Franc Ribery, Yohan Cabaye

Striker: Karim Benzema

Ideal formation: 4-2-3-1

History at the World Cup

France at FIFA World Cup
Year	Result
1930	Group Stage
1934	First Round
1938	Quarter Finals
1950	Qualified, but withdrew
1954	Group Stage
1958	Third Place
1962	Did not qualify
1966	Group Stage
1970	Did not qualify
1974	Did not qualify
1978	Group Stage
1982	Fourth Place
1986	Third Place
1990	Did not qualify
1994	Did not qualify
1998	Champions
2002	Group Stage
2006	Runners-up
2010	Group Stage

Best Performance in World Cup

France is one of those 13 European countries who took part in the opening World Cup in 1930. They have appeared in 13 World Cups up to now. Their best performance in the World Cup till date was in the year 1998, in which they clinched the title. The second best performance was in Germany, 2006, where the Les Bleus ended as a runner up under the captaincy of Zidane. Other remarkable performances of France were in 1958 and 1986 World Cups, in which they ended third. They ended fourth in 1982.

If we study the World Cup history, we will find that the France have been very inconsistent. After winning the cup in 1998, they knocked  out from the group stage in the 2002 World Cup. Again after a brilliant performance in 2006, their world cup campaign ended at group stage only in 2010 in the rainbow nation i.e South Africa.

France have been unsuccessful to qualify for the five World Cup, 1962, 1970, 1974, 1990 and 1994. In 1950, even after qualifying France withdrew at the very last instant citing political issues.

Prediction – How far can France go?

France have been positioned in a reasonably easy group along with Switzerland, Ecuador and Honduras. In a group which mostly consists of minnows of world football, France are expected to qualify for the knock-out stages without any difficulty.

With a respectable squad Les Bleus are expected to reach at least the quarter-final depending upon the draw they get. If the likes of Ribery, Pogba, Valbuena and Benzema  performs according to their latent they may prove the experts incorrect and show some wonder.

Prediction: Quarter finals