Xinhua News Agency, Paris, November 7 (Reporter Xiao Yazhuo) If it weren't for the injury, the defending champion France would still be one of the strongest teams on paper in the Qatar World Cup. But there is no if in the football world, with Kanter and Pogba confirming that they are absent due to injury, and Matuidi has been away from the front-line football world, the main midfielder trio when they won the last World Cup will not appear in the Qatar field. Considering the poor performance in the European League this year, the prospects for the " Gaul Rooster " World Cup are worrying.
Four years ago, at the Russian World Cup, France defeated Croatia 4:2 in the final, and won the World Cup championship again after 20 years. Head coach Deschamps became the third person to win the World Cup championship as a player and head coach after Zagalo and Beckenbauer .
On July 15, 2018, French team head coach Deschamps was thrown by French team members to celebrate the victory after the final of the 2018 Russia World Cup football match. Photo by Xu Zijian, Xinhua News Agency reporter
In that World Cup, people saw a pragmatic and efficient French team. They no longer pursue the gorgeous scene, but based on defense and relying on the personal abilities of superstars to achieve simple and effective quick counterattacks. The midfield creativity composed of Kanter, Pogba and Matuidi may be slightly insufficient, but the defense and confrontation intensity are world-class; Varane leads the defense line is stable enough; and on the front line, Griezmann is at its peak, and the talented teenager Mbappe emerged again.
Just when people thought that such a team with a reasonable lineup structure and considerable talent thickness would be weak in the next few years, last year's European Championship gave them a blow. With the "second entry into the palace" of the national team in Benzema and the overall strength of the team seemed to be getting to the next level, the French team was eliminated by the Swiss team in 8th finals; at that time, they were equalized by their opponents while leading two goals, and finally lost the penalty shootout.
June 28, 2021, French team player Giroud (previous) after the game. On the same day, in the European Football Championship quarterfinals held in Bucharest, Romania, Switzerland tied 3-3 with France in the 120-minute civil war. In the end, the Swiss team won 5-4 in the penalty shootout and advanced to the quarterfinals.
People found that this French team, which looks extremely powerful, is actually not invincible.
In this year's UEFA Group Stage, France only achieved a bleak record of 1 win, 2 draws and 3 losses, just one step away from relegation. Especially facing the World Cup opponent Denmark, the French team was actually "double-killed" at home and away. This makes people wonder how far this French team can go in this year's World Cup.
The house was leaking and it was raining all night. In October, the Premier League Chelsea Club announced that midfielder Kante would be out of the World Cup for four months due to surgery; in early November, Pogba's agent also confirmed that the Juventus midfielder would miss Qatar due to injury. The midfielder, who was originally full of hands, suddenly became very stretched. Deschamps will have to launch a new midfield combination in this World Cup, and before that, they didn't even have a chance to practice in a formal warm-up match.
On May 1, 2021, Kanter (middle) in the Premier League match against Chelsea against Fulham .
According to French media speculation, Chu Améni, a young midfielder who just transferred from Monaco to Real Madrid , will most likely play a role similar to Kante. Standing by his side, it may be his Real Madrid teammate Camavenga and midfielder Rabio, who is currently playing for Juventus . In addition, Fofana, Gondozi and others may also get more opportunities to play.
By comparison, Deschamps has much more choices on the forward line. Although Griezmann, the core player of the last World Cup, declined, the partnership between the new Ke Golden Ball Award winner Benzema and Mbappe is undoubtedly the most terrifying forward combination in this World Cup.
On November 2, Real Madrid player Benzema (left) was in the Champions League group stage match.
said that, even if there are many main players, the lineup of this French team is still luxurious. How to lead this team out of the sluggish state for more than a year, combine these big-name stars into a whole, and exert their strongest combat power, will test the wisdom of Deschamps and its coaching staff. Of course, if you want to go further, the French team has to be careful of another issue - internal strife. After all, the French team also has a tradition in this regard.
This World Cup France team is in Group D with Denmark, Australia and Tunisia. They will face their first opponent in the group stage on November 22.
Since 2010 South Africa World Cup , the defending champions in three consecutive games have failed to qualify from the group. Can the French team break this "curse"?
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