Team Sheet: France

By Soravit Sophastienphong

These notes were gathered in preparation for our panel discussion of the favorites and dark horses for this year’s World Cup in Russia.

  • Manager: Didier Deschamps
    • 74 games managed, 46W, 13D, 15L, 62% win percentage
    • “We are not at the same level as Germany, Spain and Brazil – yet,”
  • 7th in FIFA rankings
  • Winners of Group A in WC qualifiers with Swedens, Netherlands, Bulgaria, Luxembourg, Belarus
    • Won 7, drew 2, lost 1
  • 14 WC Appearances to date
    • Won its only title in 1998
  • Group G
    • Australia
    • Peru
    • Denmark
  • Won group with Switzerland, Ecuador, and Honduras in 2014
    • Knocked out 1-0 by Germany in QF
  • Won group with Switzerland, Albania, and Romania in Euro 2016
    • Lost to Portugal 1-0 in final
  • Latest friendlies
    • France 2-3 Columbia
    • Russia 1-3 France
    • Squad
      • Goalkeepers: Alphonse Areola (Paris Saint-Germain), Hugo Lloris (Tottenham), Steve Mandanda (Marseille).Defenders: Lucas Digne (Barcelona), Lucas Hernandez (Atletico Madrid), Presnel Kimpembe (Paris Saint-Germain), Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal), Benjamin Pavard (Stuttgart), Djibril Sidibe (Monaco), Samuel Umtiti (Barcelona), Raphael Varane (Real Madrid).Midfielders: N’Golo Kante (Chelsea), Thomas Lemar (Monaco), Blaise Matuidi (Juventus), Paul Pogba (Manchester United), Adrien Rabiot (Paris Saint-Germain), Corentin Tolisso (Bayern Munich).

        Forwards: Wissam Ben Yedder (Sevilla), Ousmane Dembele (Barcelona), Olivier Giroud (Chelsea), Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid), Anthony Martial (Manchester United), Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain), Florian Thauvin (Marseille).

    • Key Players
    • Kylian Mbappe
    • Paul Pogba
    • Samuel Umtiti
    • Hugo Lloris
    • Antoine Griezmann
  • Players Missing Out
    • Kurzawa
    • Mendy (undetermined)
    • Christophe Jallet
    • Laporte
    • Zouma
    • Adil Rami
    • Moussa Sissoko
    • Tiemoue Bakayoko
    • Yohan Cabaye
    • Morgan Schneiderlin
    • Dimitri Payet
    • Alexandre Lacazette
    • Kevin Gameiro
    • Andre-Pierre Gignac

References:

Ansorge, P. (n.d.). Picking France’s 2018 World Cup Squad After End of Qualification Campaign. Retrieved April 29, 2018, from http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2737872-picking-frances-2018-world-cup-squad-after-end-of-qualification-campaign

France Announce Squad For Colombia & Russia Friendlies. (n.d.). Retrieved April 29, 2018, from https://www.soccerladuma.co.za/news/articles/international/categories/world-news/france-announce-squad-for-colombia-russia-friendlies/291725

France at the FIFA World Cup. (2018, March 31). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=France_at_the_FIFA_World_Cup&oldid=833490363

sport, G. (2017, December 1). World Cup 2018: team-by-team guide to all 32 countries. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/dec/01/world-cup-2018-team-by-team-guide

UEFA Euro 2016. (2018, April 6). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=UEFA_Euro_2016&oldid=835097633