The French national team has truly been a sight for sore eyes of the past decade. In the 2014 World Cup they only ended up making it to the quarter finals despite being favorites, and in the 2010 World cup they did not even make it past the group stage. They have been an absolute disgrace to what they used to be, winning the world cup in 1998′ and finishing runners up in 2006. In those that they did not perform well they should’ve at least finished runners up. This up coming World Cup however will be much different. The French national team has been revitalized with new, fresh young talent in defense, midfield and forwards. Also, Manager Didier Deschamps has instilled a new way of moving the ball around the field that has made passing and keeping possession easier for the team.
A lot of members from the team play in the same league and even same club. Paris Saint Germain and AS Monaco combined have 8 players who play for the national team and many more play in that same league. The other players from the squad, who play outside of France, are some of the best players in the world right now. Antoine Griezmann is currently one of the most expensive strikers at the moment, having had 3 successful seasons with Atletico Madrid in a row. Paul Pogba, who is the most expensive signing in history is currently the strongest and most skillful defensive midfielder the premier league has. All of these players together also have one thing that is very important, they are all young. This means they have many years ahead of them to get used to how they play together and find out what works. I fact the oldest player on the squad is 30 years old while most national teams is 36-40.
France exploded to life last summer finishing second in the Euro’s. Even though they were favorites to win the tournament, they still put on an impressive showing for all of Europe. If they play as well at the World Cup as they did at the Euro’s they will surely win the whole thing. They even have more talent on they’re team now than they did when they played in the Euro’s last summer. Mbappe, Kante, Thauvin and Lemar are all new faces to the team and regularly start whether it be a friendly or a qualifier match.
Starting Line-Up
This is what I believe France’s starting XI should look like come World Cup 2018:
Forwards: Griezmann, Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele
Midfield: Kante, Pogba, Payet
Defense: Sidibe, Koscielny, Varane, Digne
GK: Lloris
Formation: 4-3-3
