Les Blues unaffected by setbacks
Not many would have betted on the French making an early exit, given the team’s depth. It was the first team to advance to the knock-out stage.
France arrived in Qatar without three of its stars. Midfielders Paul Pogba and N’golo Kante had been ruled out before the squad was announced. A day before the defending champion was scheduled to fly to Qatar, striker Christopher Nkunku injured his leg. If all that wasn’t bad enough, then Karim Benzema, who had won the Ballon d’or only a month ago, was ruled out with a thigh injury on the eve of the World Cup.
But all those setbacks didn’t matter much, as France topped Group D and ensured its place in the round of 16 with a game to spare. That meant a defending champion survived the preliminary league stage for the first time since 2010. Of course, not many would have betted on the French making an early exit, given the team’s depth, the absence of some key men notwithstanding.
France opened its campaign with a resounding 4-1 victory against Australia, after conceding the lead. It then overcame Denmark, which was always going to be its strongest opponent in the group, 2-1. That victory made Les Bleus the first team to advance to the knock-out stage in Qatar.
Now, the question was who would join them in that phase. The answer was provided by Mathew Leckie, who scored the winner with a brilliant solo effort against Denmark. The 1-0 win took Australia to the second place in the league, ahead of the Tunisians, who must be considering themselves unlucky to have missed out, despite shocking a virtually second-string France by the same margin and at the same time on the last match-day in Group D. Denmark finished last in the group. Who would have imagined that?