France : For The History Books

It’s not been flamboyant but very effective and efficient football for the French national team as they head to Lusail on Sunday for the final of the 2022 FIFA World Cup against Argentina. They headed into the tournament without key players like Ngolo Kante, Paul Pogba, Karim Benzema, Christopher Nkunku, Presnel Kimpembe who were all ruled out through injuries. Pre-tournament form was at an all-time low with the team suffering humiliating defeats in the UEFA Nations League sapped confidence heading into the World Cup. Fortunately, head coach Didier Deschamps has been able to re-energise and motivate the team to reach the levels of 2018. Group stage wins against Australia and Denmark saw them top their group with six points despite a shock one nil defeat to Tunisia.
A 3-1 cruise over Poland in the round of 16 boosted their confidence but they had to show their grit to edge England 2-1 at the quarterfinals to set a semi-final date against Morocco. Les Bleus answered all questions that were asked of them in the semis and took their chances when they came hitting twice to seal a two nil victory. In Kylian Mbappe, they have the joint top goal scorer of the tournament with five goals while Antoine Griezmann has rediscovered his best form. The team can be proud of their collective strength that has brought them this far but could be wary of their defensive frailties. Didier Deschamps has chopped and changed his centre back pairing game by game but has been lucky to get out with it. Against Morocco, he brought in Ibrahima Konate to partner Raphael Varane, dropping Day...