Why is France a candidate for the World Cup?

The World Cup is only a year away and France, after winning the UEFA Nations Cup, have shown they are the leaders to claim football’s top prize once again.

Everyone has their favorites as we approach the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Brazil is a longtime rival, both in terms of tradition and in terms of player quality, as is their South American rival Argentina, recent Copa America winners. In Europe, there are countless potential candidates. Among them is France, the favorite team once again.

To think that France can win the World Cup for the third time is not too stressful. After all, they are the following defending champions their victory in Russia 2018 and showed in Kylian Mbappe one of the best strikers on the planet.

But Les Bleus was not in good form at the European Championships this past summer, forcing the argument that Italy, who go on to win Euro 2020 due to pandemic delay, or even Spain, with a squad rebuilt with youth, could instead compete for the World Cup. French shares fell.

However, in the past few days, it is France that has shown that they are the leaders to repeat as World Cup champions once again. The tournament will take place in November 2022, with only two teams qualified (hosts Qatar and Germany), but there continues to be much speculation about which team will lift the trophy.

Victory in France’s UEFA Nations League on Sunday put them back at the top. Not only did they win the trophy, but they were also in great form. In the semi-final against Belgium, France scored three goals to score a jubilant 3-2 victory.

In the final, France, losing 1-0 to Spain, scored twice late in the game (including Mbappe’s controversial goal in the 10th minute) to win 2-1 and a win back. is different. Paul Pogba’s exceptional midfield and the attacking prowess of Antoine Griezmann and Karim Benzema (returning to the list for the first time in five years since this summer) are just a few examples of why the French team This is stimulated again.

“We went behind in both games… We quickly equalized after going behind. In addition to the talent that we have on this team, there is also their character and intellect and I am very proud of the players,” said Deschamps. told reporters after winning in the Nations League. “We stopped the game after 20 minutes and you can’t do that against Spain. Our system and the way we operate within it still needs to be improved. In the second half, we were more aggressive and forced them to foul.”

France may not have much possession compared to a team like Spain, but that’s what they do when they have the ball. Under coach Didier Deschamps, France played a 4-5-1 or 4-4-2 system that he tinkered with at the Euros and transformed into a 3-4-3 or even a 3-4-1- 2 subject to objection. That squad, with the Mbappe-Griezmann-Benzema trio, proved deadly in the Nations League.

It was the French talent, coupled with a never-dead attitude, that made them the leaders. It is a quality that teams competing in short-term tournaments, such as the World Cup, need to exploit in their favor in order to survive. To be successful at a World Cup, teams need to be proactive and, as was the case with France a few days ago, also react.

Over the past week, France has proven that they can do it. Even a 2-0 lead was not enough to kill Les Bleus. France have shown that they are the clear World Cup leaders.