World Cup CHECK | Title favorite France?

The French won their only World Cup title to date in their own country in 1998. Deschamps himself lifted the trophy into the Parisian night sky as captain. 20 years later, the 49-year-old has the chance to coach for the second time. In 2014, his team failed in the quarter-finals against eventual tournament winners Germany. So far, only Mario Zagallo (Brazil) and Franz Beckenbauer (Germany) have been world champions as players and coaches.

Griezmann, Mbappe & Dembele: concentrated offensive power Deschamps has been in office since 2012. He has largely put an end to the internal disputes that his predecessors Raymond Domenech and Laurent Blanc had to contend with. Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema, for example, has not been called up since his possible involvement in the blackmail of ex-teammate Mathieu Valbuena by publishing a sex video in 2015 became known.

France's team boss can afford it. In addition to top man Antoine Griezmann, the top scorer with six goals and the best player at the home European Championship in 2016, he also has numerous other offensive weapons at his disposal. The young stars Kylian Mbappe (Paris St. Germain) and Ousmane Dembele (FC Barcelona) are contesting their first World Cup. Prominent attackers such as Manchester United's Anthony Martial and Arsenal's Alexandre Lacazette did not make it into the squad. Potential for the world title Paul Pogba (Manchester United), N'Golo Kante (Chelsea) and Blaise Matuidi (Juventus) set the tone in midfield, while Real's Raphael Varane and Barca's Samuel Umtiti set the tone in defense. The line-up of stars makes France one of the bookmakers' favorites for the title alongside Brazil, Germany and Spain. In the group stage, “Les Bleus” will face Australia, Peru and Denmark. An early end like in 2002 and 2010 would be an embarrassment.

However, the French had to fight harder than they would have liked in qualifying. Participation in the World Cup as group winners ahead of Sweden and the Netherlands was only confirmed in the last round against Belarus (2:1). “We didn’t have everything under control in qualifying,” admitted Deschamps. “We didn't really hurt our opponents, we have to learn that.” France definitely has the potential to do that.

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World Cup CHECK | Title favorite France?

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