FIFA ranking: 4

How they qualified: UEFA qualifying group D winners

2018 World Cup performance: Winners

Previous World Cup appearances: 15

Best result: Winners (1998, 2018)

 

Background

France are back at their seventh consecutive World Cup and will be hoping to become only the second European side (and only third overall after Brazil and Italy) to defend their crown after becoming world champions in 2018. Les Bleus reached Qatar in rather comfortable fashion after finishing their qualifying group top and unbeaten, however, their last few results ahead of the 2022 World Cup have not been the most convincing – winning only one of their UEFA Nations League games in 2022, with unconvincing defeats against World Cup group opponents Denmark, as well as Croatia.

That being said, France go into this winter’s tournament as one of the favourites, having not only won the last World Cup in Russia and the 2021 edition of the UEFA Nations League but also arguably having the biggest squad depth from any of the 32 teams at the 2022 World Cup, a quality that should come in handy during a World Cup that is like no other, particularly with the lack of preparation and the mid-season injuries that are likely to come.

 

The Coach – Didier Deschamps

Didier Deschamps will be the longest-serving head coach at this winter’s World Cup and he is in fact the longest-serving coach in the history of the French national team, having taken over the reins in 2012. Back in his playing days, Deschamps was a top defensive midfielder and leader, having collected five league titles, two Champions League trophies, as well as a World Cup and European Championship in a career playing for Marseille, Juventus, Valencia, Chelsea, and the French national team.

While his managerial CV is not as accomplished, ‘merely’ picking up the Coupe de la Ligue with AS Monaco early in his career, as well as the Serie B at Juventus and Ligue 1 at Marseille, his biggest achievement came in 2018 when the Frenchman guided Les Bleus to the 2018 World Cup crown in Russia, becoming only the third man to win a World Cup as a player and coach. Deschamps was initially given a two-year contract in July 2012, following Laurent Blanc’s resignation, but some promising performances led to a 10-year career with the national team, a career which almost certainly will end after the 2022 World Cup no matter the result, with the 54-year-old’s contract expiring after the tournament in Qatar, and with former Les Bleus skipper Zinedine Zidane waiting in the wings.

 

Key Player – Kylian Mbappe

At 23, PSG forward Kylian Mbappe is arguably France’s most important player, having already racked up 59 caps and lifted a World Cup trophy. The number 10 is crucial to the way France attack, with France lacking another play of his type and calibre in the team, with 49-goal Olivier Giroud more of a target-man, while Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann has been inconsistent of late and is usually deployed further back in the national team. During the 2018 World Cup, Mbappe was a 19-year-old prodigy, but the 2022 World Cup can be his chance to announce himself to the entire world as the heir to the Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo ‘best player in the world’ title.

 

Predicted Line-up

 

World Cup Chances

Only two previous teams have retained their World Cup crown, and the latest was Brazil in 1962, which does not provide favourable news for France in 2022. While defensively and offensively this France team is perhaps better than the one in 2018 – containing natural full-backs, young up-and-coming centre-backs in Jules Kounde and William Saliba, as well as the returning Karim Benzema to spice up the attack – however, with the injuries to midfielders Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante, who were so influential for France ever since the 2018 World Cup, leave the midfield of France short on world-class talent. While France will possess perhaps the deepest squad at this World Cup in terms of quality, Deschamps will have to find solutions for the absence of two of the best midfielders in the world for France to have any chance of defending their title in Qatar.