Repeat a difficult feat
History not on France’s side in quest for another title
PARIS — As well as coping with injuries to key players again, France has the weight of World Cup history to contend with in Qatar.
Good luck, Les Bleus.
Not since Brazil lost the 1998 final to France has the defending champion come close to retaining the title.
Of the next five World Cup defending champions, four failed to reach the knockout stage and three finished last in their group.
As World Cup champions in 1998, many favored France to win again in 2002, especially with the front line featuring top scorers from three major European leagues.
France boasted Arsenal striker Thierry Henry, Juventus marksman David Trezeguet and rising talent Djibril Cisse in a glittering attack blending speed, skill and power. But the French flopped and, with an injured Zinedine Zidane unable to perform properly in midfield, limped out of the group stage without a win.
It was one of the greatest shocks in World Cup history, and the warning signs are chillingly similar this time.
Defending champion France boasts arguably the best attack in the world with Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema alongside 2018 World Cup star Kylian Mbappé, with either Antoine Griezmann or Olivier Giroud to support them.
Speed, skill and power.
But, like in 2002, France also has problems in midfield, with World Cup winners Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kanté out injured, depriving coach Didier Deschamps of his engine room. Defender Raphaël Varane, another mainstay from four years ago, is trying to recover from a hamstring injury.
Here’s a look at where it went wrong for France in 2002 as well as Germany, the last defending champion, in 2018.
France in 2002
What could go wrong for a France team with Zidane playing behind Henry, Trezeguet and Cisse in a group featuring Senegal, Uruguay and Denmark?
The first mistake coach Roger Lemerre made was picking Zidane in a warmup against South Korea five days before the tournament. He limped off with a thigh injury that ruled him out of the first two group games, and he was rushed back for the last.
France, however, still had the core of its victorious team from 1998. Youri Djorkaeff was in the midfield alongside Patrick Vieira, who had just won the Premier League and FA Cup double with Arsenal teammate Henry. There was also Emmanuel Petit, who had scored in the 3-0 win over Brazil in the last final.
But in the opening match of 2002, Papa Bouba Diop scored the lone goal for Senegal in a 1-0 win over the defending champions.
France’s hopes of bouncing back took a hit when Henry was sent off after 25 minutes for a reckless challenge in a 0-0 draw against Uruguay.
That left France needing to beat Denmark by two goals. A strapped-up Zidane did what he could but France lost 2-0 and went home.
Germany in 2018
So much for ruthless Germany, the attacking machine that put seven goals past Brazil in the semifinals at the previous World Cup on the way to its fourth title.
From the outset, Germany struggled in Russia, losing a scrappy game 1-0 to Mexico and then needing a goal from midfielder Toni Kroos in the fifth minute of injury time to beat Sweden.
That should have been enough of a wake-up call.
Germany needed to beat South Korea to have a shot at advancing, but instead conceded two goals deep in stoppage time after squandering many chances to score.
The loss was met with disbelief back home, a feeling familiar to that star-studded France team 20 years ago.