France want to retain their status as world champions this winter, and they’ve named a stellar 25-man squad to try and achieve exactly that.
Only Italy and Brazil in 1938 and 1962 respectively have ever won the World Cup at back-to-back tournaments, but you wouldn’t put it past Les Bleus to join that exclusive club of nations when you consider all the talent they have at their finger tips.
Truth be told, it’s football’s worst-kept secret that France have outrageous squad depth with each and every international break underlining just how lucky Didier Deschamps truly is.
France’s staggering squad depth
Even with key figures such as N’Golo Kante and Paul Pogba ruled out with injury, there was never any threat of Deschamps not having deep, deep pockets when it came to players to call upon.
And with the World Cup now racing towards us at top speed, the France boss finally showed his hand on Wednesday night by unveiling the squad that everybody was worried about.
Yes, Brazil might be favourites and yes, they might have released a staggering cohort of their own, but don’t allow the well-known nature of France’s depth to make you numb to it all.
Rather, let all the world-class quality wash over you because there’s every reason to think that France’s squad is so talented that Euro 2020 can’t be put down as anything other than an anomalous blip.
Read more: World Cup 2022: Dates, Schedule, UK Kick Off Times, Stadiums, Groups, Tickets, Odds and Much More
Who did France name in their World Cup squad?
So, quiver in your boots, football fans, because you can check out the final 25-man group that Deschamps decided upon this week in all its glory and ridiculous depth down below:
Goalkeepers: Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur), Alphonse Areola (West Ham United), Steve Mandanda (Rennes)
Defenders: William Saliba (Arsenal), Ibrahima Konaté (Liverpool), Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich), Raphael Varane (Manchester United), Lucas Hernandez (Bayern Munich), Theo Hernadez (AC Milan), Presnel Kimpembe (Paris Saint-Germain), Benjamin Pavard (Bayern Munich), Jules Kounde (Barcelona)
Midfielders: Youssouf Fofana (AS Monaco), Mattéo Guendouzi (Marseille), Adrien Rabiot (Juventus), Aurélien Tchouaméni (Real Madrid), Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid), Jordan Veretout (Marseille)
Forwards: Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), Kingsley Coman (Bayern Munich), Ousmane Dembele (Barcelona), Olivier Giroud (AC Milan), Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid), Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain), Christopher Nkunku (RB Leipzig)
The squad depth of dreams
Is the midfield looking lighter than it would ordinarily? Yes, yes it is, but to think that Les Blues can still fill out the centre of the pitch so strongly without arguably their finest two middlemen in Pogba and Kante is pretty extraordinary.
And everywhere else – in spite of the injury problems affecting every national side right now – France are just as strong as ever with their attack, in particular, looking like something straight out of FIFA career mode.
Not only do France have two of the 2021 Ballon d’Or contenders in Benzema and Mbappe, but a head-spinning queue featuring the likes of Giroud, Griezmann and Nkunku ready to back them up.
Marry that to a glut of defensive talent as well as three very accomplished goalkeepers and we can’t help getting deja vu when we say: France’s options are an absolute joke.
Can France go all the way in Qatar?
On paper, the two-time winners should have a fairly straightforward passage to the knockout rounds as they inhabit Group D alongside Australia, Denmark and Tunisia.
It is, after all, interesting to note that Denmark and Australia were also in France’s group in Russia when they went all the way, though the former was the only nation not to lose to Deschamps’ men that summer.
Plus, it must be pointed out that France will have to avoid the “winners’ curse” which has afflicted every World Cup holder with the exception of Brazil in 2006 since the turn of the century.
France themselves, having won the tournament on home soil in 1998, first set the curse in motion four years later when they crashed out of the group stages with zero wins and zero goals scored.
France’s Marcel Desailly holds his head in his hands at the end of the match
Mandatory Credit:Action Images / Richard Heathcote
Digital
And similarly, the trio of Italy, Spain and Germany have all suffered the same fate of failing to reach the knockout stages in the tournaments where they sought to defend men’s football’s biggest prize.
However, if Deschamps can avoid a humiliating exit early doors, then you’d be crazy not to think that France have a very good chance of lifting gold once again based on the evidence of their remarkably strong squad.
With only Brazil boasting a valid claim to having comparable squad depth, France should probably go down as favourites on paper even if things don’t turn out that way in practice. Watch this space.
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