After the disappointments in the World Cup in South Africa with players deciding not to play and creating a bad image of themselves, France will be looking to repay thier supporters with some sort of success in this World Cup, even if it is progressing through the Group Stages. Although they needed a play-off to get to Brazil, everyone should be wary of the threat they possess.
Qualifying
France are one of just four sides who haven't dropped points from a winning position, so teams should be wary and hungry to grab the first goal. France finished second in their qualifying group, being just three points away from leaders Spain. This was an expectation of many France supporters, to see their team achieve. After the dissapointment in the previous World Cup, getting away from the Group Stages is massive, seeing as it wasn't fulfilled last time round.
The Squad
Coach: Didier Deschamps
Goalkeepers: Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur), Stephane Ruffier (St Etienne), Mickael Landreau (Bastia).
Defenders: Mathieu Debuchy (Newcastle United), Lucas Digne (Paris St Germain), Patrice Evra (Manchester United), Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal), Eliaquim Mangala (Porto) Bacary Sagna (Arsenal) Mamadou Sakho (Liverpool) Raphael Varane (Real Madrid).
Midfielders: Yohan Cabaye (Paris St Germain), Clement Grenier (Lyon), Blaise Matuidi (Paris St Germain), Rio Mavuba (Lille), Paul Pogba (Juventus), Moussa Sissoko (Newcastle United), Mathieu Valbuena (Marseille).
Forwards: Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), Olivier Giroud (Arsenal), Antoine Griezmann (Real Sociedad), Loic Remy (Newcastle United).
The Starting XI:
For the game which many people would have been watching, France - Spain, Didier Deschamps settled for a 4-3-3 formation. Starting in goal was Hugo Lloris who is playing his football in the Premier League for Tottenham. Christophe Jallet was in his right-back position, where he likes to play for French side PSG. Your two centre halfs for France are La Liga-based Varane and Premier League based Sakho. Left back was Manchester United's Patrice Evra. They started off with 3 central midfielders with Pogba (who later got sent off), Cabaye and Matuidi taking these positions. On the left wing was the dangerous Ribery and his opposite was Valbuena with Real Madrid star Karim Benzema being the main striker.
Verdict:
This is a very strong French side that will be looking to apologise to thier supporters for what happened four yearsago. In their group they are more than capable of qualifying, and perhaps even further. Ultimatey, though, they will struggle to progress further than the quarter-finals.
Prediction - Quarter-Finals.
