2006 World Cup winners Italy – away in the group stage in 2010.
2010 FIFA World Cup winner Spain – knocked out in the group stage in 2014.
2014 World Cup winner Germany – eliminated in the group stage in 2018.
Given their incredible team depth, even with key players injured, it seems unthinkable that 2018 World Cup winners France would be sent onto the field before the knockout stage begins.
As one of the tournament’s favourites, can Les Bleus do what no team has done since Brazil in 1962: defend their crown? Metro Sport breaks down the French football team:
The manager: Didier Deschamps
One of only three men to have won the World Cup as a player and manager, Qatar In 2022, the curtain will fall on Didier Deschamps’s very successful time as boss of Les Bleus.
In its 10-year reign, France won the World Cup, the Nations League and runners-up in Euro 2016, but they shockedly crashed out of the European Championship against Switzerland last summer.
As always seems to be the case with France, Deschamps has had to keep big egos in check, deal with infighting and manage a team overloaded with world-class players – but with Zinedine Zidane waiting in the wings, he can still do it do one last time.
Star player: Kylian Mbappé
Kylian Mbappé, widely hailed as the heir to the throne of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, is one of the deadliest attackers in the world.
The 23-year-old already has 249 goals in 368 appearances for club and country and was named Best Young Player at Russia 2018 after becoming the first teenager since Pele to score in a World Cup final.
But with so many expectations on his shoulders, lingering rumors about his future at Paris Saint-Germain and his terrifying missed penalty against Switzerland, Mbappé will cajole to mislead him.
Young player to watch: Aurelien Tchouameni
Aurelien Tchouameni was a wanted man last season, with Liverpool keen on the formidable defensive midfielder whose performances in Monaco won him critical acclaim.
Ultimately, Real Madrid signed him in a deal worth up to £88 million and with Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante out injured, the 22-year-old is expected to play a vital role for the French side.
He may have no experience, but so far he has passed every test that has been put to him with flying colors.
Play Style:
Before the tournament, Deschamps announced that France would return from the 3-4-1-2 to the 4-2-3-1 that brought the trophy four years ago.
Expect a pragmatic approach, but once the first goal is scored the floodgates could open, but with injury problems ruling out many regulars, Deschamps will be extra cautious.
How they line up:
Captain Hugo Lloris is back in the posts but the defense backing him up depends a lot on who is fit but if everyone is 100% Benjamin Pavard and Raphael Varane will definitely start.
Tchouameni’s midfield partner isn’t set in stone, but Adrien Rabiot, who almost joined Manchester United this summer, is the most experienced option available to Deschamps.
Cramming all of France’s best forwards into one team is very risky, but a front four of Mbappé, Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema, Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembélé is more than enough to deter even the best defences.
Prediction:
Ignore the champions curse at your peril, but France should top Group D, ahead of Denmark and Australia (whom they also played in Group D in Russia) and Tunisia.
Argentina and Mexico are the likely opponents in the round of 16 and if the tournament goes ahead, as many expect, England awaits in the quarter-finals.
Even during an injury crisis, France has the means to defend its crown. Whether they will do so is very, very unclear.
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