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France have reached the semi-finals of the World Cup for the seventh time in their history and for the second consecutive tournament, and are set to face Morocco in an enticing fixture for a spot in the final in Qatar.
Four wins from five games at this tournament proves their ability to win games, and highlights why they have reached the stage of the World Cup that they have.
Aiming to become just the third nation to retain the World Cup, France have every chance of repeating their 2018 exploits and lifting the Jules Rimet Trophy once again on Sunday 18 December, with their experienced squad and manager well-suited to the situation they find themselves in.
Indeed, Les Bleus are the favourites of the final four to emerge victorious as tournament winners. There are plenty of reasons why this is, though, and FourFourTwo has delved deeper into why they could win World Cup 2022.
Why France could win the World Cup
In recent tournaments, the defending World Cup champions have faltered at the first hurdle, failing to get out of the group stages and heading home in disgrace four years after such an ecstatic high.
France, though, have subverted that narrative, comfortably topping their group – notwithstanding a 1-0 loss to Tunisia with a second-string side – before seeing off Poland in the last 16. While not the most difficult opponents, Germany, Spain and Italy have all succumbed to arguably weaker sides in the past three editions.
Simply, France know how to win games of football. The starting team is comprised of six players who lifted the trophy in Russia, while Didier Deschamps is still the manager and motivating his players each game.
Indeed, it is this essential know-how which has proven crucial at this tournament, especially against England in the quarter-finals. England were the better side across the 90 minutes, but failed to capitalise on their dominance. Instead, France scored two very well taken goals and managed to hang on amid the pressure thrown at them – proving their credentials and characters of champions.
Title winning sides are often referred to as those who are able to win games even when not playing well, and the quarter-finals proved that.
Elsewhere, Kylian Mbappe is currently the best player in the world. He already has five goals to his name at this tournament, so don’t be surprised to see him add more to that total in the remaining fixtures. Even if he doesn’t score, though, France are capable of scoring goals through Olivier Giroud or Antoine Griezmann.
Their midfield has reinvented itself somewhat, too, with Griezmann playing deeper and Rabiot and Tchouameni in midfield instead of Pogba and Kante. There hasn’t been a discernible difference in the way they’ve played, though, with the aforementioned new pair seamlessly slotting straight in to their roles.
France are also strong defensively, refusing to give away too many chances. Raphael Varane and Dayot Upamecano at centre-back with Jules Kounde on the right of defence is sound, while Theo Hernandez manages to keep the left side under wraps as Mbappe is given licence further forward.
Additionally, if you had offered a semi-final game against Morocco before the tournament to Deschamps, he would’ve snapped your hand off. Granted, the African side have performed exceptionally well to reach this stage of the tournament, knocking out Spain and Portugal in the last 16 and quarter-finals, respectively – but they can’t go all the way, surely?
Perhaps that is being slightly harsh, but France are, on paper, just that much better than them. In fact, France are, on paper, a lot stronger than both Argentina and Croatia (the other semi-final) as well, making them the clear favourites to win World Cup 2022.
