A bad case of Les Bleus
WORLD CHAMPIONS ARE IN DISARRAY
FRANCE come into this World Cup as defending champions with two of the best attacking talents on the planet in Kylian Mbappe and Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema.
Yet, there is a feeling of unease around their camp here in Doha when there should be a buzz.
Coach Didier Deschamps arrived this week with a depleted squad. No Paul Pogba, of course. But the loss of Chelsea star N’Golo Kante is probably a bigger blow.
The midfield woes kept coming when RB Leipzig’s inform Christopher Nkunku was ruled out on the eve of the tournament after picking up an injury in training.
Add to that defenders Raphael Varane (right) and Jules Kounde arrived in the Middle East battling fitness issues then Deschamps is juggling an injury crisis. But his problems don’t end there.
Mbappe is immersed in an image rights row with the French Football Federation.
It seems the Paris SaintGermain striker does not wield the same power with Les Bleus as he does with his club. Add in that absolutely barmy story about Pogba allegedly employing a witch doctor to hinder Mbappe. It has yet to be proven, of course.
It all feels a long way away from the Stade de France scenes four years ago when the nation’s football stars paraded the World Cup trophy they won in Russia to their fans while singing a specially-written song hailing each other.
There are fears it could be a repeat of 2002, when France went into the World
Cup as defending champions.
They didn’t get out of the group stages that time. They didn’t even win a game.
They should manage that in Qatar, after being drawn in Group D alongside Australia, Denmark and Tunisia. But bear in mind that no country has retained the World Cup since Brazil did so in 1962.
The omens are not good for France, and yet there are some positives.
They may be missing key midfield men but they still have talent in the position.
That includes Real Madrid pair Eduardo Camavinga and Aurelien Tchouameni. This could be the moment either of them burst out on the big stage and become an icon of this tournament.
France certainly need one of them to step up. But in Benzema they have the best forward in world football over the last 12 months.
He fired Real to the Champions League last season and one of the few medals missing from his collection is a World Cup winners’, as he was not picked by
Les Bleus between 2015 and May 2021.
He has had some injuries this campaign but has still managed six goals and will be keen to be his country’s talisman, while Mbappe is still one of the best front runners in the world and is in scintillating form.
He has 20 goals so far this term for club and country, including seven in the Champions League. The PSG star lit up the tournament in 2018 and became just the second teenager, after Pele, to score in a World Cup final.
But if he could inspire his country to retain the trophy then he will surely go down as a legend for his nation at the age of just 23.