France have the biggest target on their backs heading into World Cup 2022 as they’re the defending champions and they’re arguably the deepest team in this upcoming tournament.
Retaining their crown won’t be easy at all since almost everything is going against the fourth-ranked team in FIFA – from their share of injury woes, and the so-called “World Cup curse” that they started back in 1998.
Recent history shows that the defending World Cup champions always fail to get out of the group stage and this has been the case for two decades now.
However, this should give Les Bleus motivation and it would be fitting if they’ll be the ones who will end this troubling trend. The World Cup 2022 odds like their chances, so continue to read on below as SBOTOP examines why they can win the showpiece event in Qatar.
Injuries don’t compromise France’s depth
Even with notable absentees, France are still one of the favourites to win it all.
Midfielders N’Golo Kante and Paul Pogba are both ruled out for this tournament due to hamstring and knee injuries. Kante hasn’t been the same since last season, while Pogba has yet to play a game since April when he limped off during a 4-0 Manchester United loss to Liverpool.
Manchester United centre-back Raphael Varane also suffered a hamstring injury during their 1-1 draw versus Chelsea last week, while shot stopper Mike Maignan and full-back Lucas Hernandez have already missed several games for AC Milan and Bayern Munich due to calf and adductor injuries.
Varane, Hernandez, and Maignan are both fighting against time to make it to Les Bleus’ World Cup selection and they seem to be progressing well, which is great news for the 2018 World Cup champions.
Nonetheless, France are well-covered in all areas of pitch and they shouldn’t have much trouble wading through the group stages before facing tougher opponents down the line.
Their staggering depth is a testament to their ability to produce talent over the years. In fact, they have churned out more quality players than anywhere else in the world, spearheaded by the famous Clairefontaine academy.
The right mix of youth and veterans
Didier Deschamps will have to make big and hard decisions ahead of Qatar. But rival national team managers would gladly exchange places with him since he has a smorgasbord of top talent.
At goal, Hugo Lloris seems to be the number one choice, but Mike Maignan, Alban Lafont, and Alphonse Areola can all deputise for the Tottenham skipper when needed.
France’s defencive talent pool is also off the charts since they have Raphael Varane, Presnel Kimpembe, William Saliba, Ibrahima Konate, Jules Kounde, Wesley Fofana, Kurt Zouma, and Dayot Upamecano at centre-back, while Lucas Hernandez, Theo Hernandez, Ferland Mendy, Benjamin Pavard, Lucas Digne, Ruben Aguilar, and Jonathan Clauss are their full-back candidates.
In midfield, Deschamps can go young with Eduardo Camavinga, Houssem Aouar, Tanguy Ndombele, and Aurelien Tchouameni, but he can also go for veterans such as Nabil Fekir, Adrien Rabiot, and Dimitri Payet.
However, the final third is definitely the strongest area for France with PSG star Kylian Mbappe and 2022 Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema leading the charge.
Antoine Griezmann, Ousmane Dembele, Christopher Nkunku, Olivier Giroud, Moussa Diaby, Kingsley Coman, Allan Saint-Maximin, and Wissam Ben Yedder will also fancy their chances in Qatar since all of them are capable of producing World Cup 2022 highlights.
Didier Deschamps has a chip on his shoulder
For all the talent that they have, there’s a notion that Didier Deschamps is France’s biggest weakness, which sounds odd since he guided them to their 2018 World Cup triumph.
He bared the brunt of blame when France crashed out of Euro 2020 against Switzerland in the Round of 16, and then he couldn’t get his team going in this year’s Nations League where they narrowly avoided relegation.
Many also believe that the 54-year-old manager is not the right guy to get the most out of his star-studded lineup given his oft-risk-averse tactics.
And reports claim that World Cup 2022 is going to be Deschamps’ last dance since he’s expected to be replaced at the helm soon by his old midfield partner Zinedine Zidane.
These narratives should add fuel to the fire as he’ll try to lead France to another World Cup glory. Les Bleus are on the cusp of achieving something rare because they can become the first country since Brazil (1958, 1962) to win back-to-back – which could well be the perfect send-off for Didier Deschamps.
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