One look at the names in the France squad for the World Cup 2018 and you would feel comfortable in predicting they could go all the way in the tournament.
Talent
Didier Deschamps have a huge array of talent to call upon, in every position. Raphael Varane, N’Golo Kante, Paul Pogba, Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappe are just a handful of the world class players at the disposal of the national team coach.
However, having finished runners-up in 2006 with a team full of world class players, the France national team have failed to make it beyond the quarter-final stage of the tournament. The 2010 World Cup was a disaster and in Brazil four years ago, France lost to Germany in the quarter-final.
Having played host to the 2016 European Championship, France were backed by many to win the tournament under the guidance of Deschamps. Having reached the final, defeating Germany along the way, France failed and lost 1-0 to Portugal, who played much of the match without their star man, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Source: gdnonline.com
World Cup 2018 Odds
A quick look at the odds for World Cup 2018 shows France behind Brazil, Germany and Spain in the betting, despite their quality players. So, if it is not the quality of the players which is holding the France national team back, could it be the manager, Deschamps?
The former French international midfielder has won titles and cups as a club manager. He led Monaco to the Champions League final in 2003/04, Juventus to the Serie B title in 2006/07 and Marseille to Ligue 1 in 2009/10.
Decision Making
Deschamps knows what it takes to win trophies yet he seems to be struggling in the France hot seat and was roundly criticised for his tactics in the Euro 2016 final. The French had Portugal just where they wanted them when Ronaldo was forced off injured. However, Deschamps remained too defensive in his approach to a match where the opposition were happy to see the game run through to a penalty shoot-out if required.
Some of Deschamps’ team selections during World Cup qualifying have come into question, including the omission of N’Golo Kante, Ousmane Dembele and Kylian Mbappe for the away match in Sweden, which France lost 2-1.
Towards the end of the qualifying campaign, France played Luxembourg at home in a match they were expected to win with ease. However, the French were held to a 0-0 draw and Deschamps’ team selection came into question for the second time.
In a recent friendly game against Colombia in Paris, France went on to lose 3-2 despite having been 2-0 up and the manager faced criticism for not making the necessary changes to see out the game.
France have arguably their best group of players since 1998 and there will be no excuses if they do not compete in the latter stages of this World Cup. If France fail to make it to at least to the semi-final in Russia, Deschamps will be under huge pressure to keep his job.
