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2018 World Cup Preview – France

Four years after their quarter final exit to Germany in the 2014 World Cup, France will have their eyes on going further this time around.

With a young and talented squad hopes are high of adding another World Cup to their 1998 triumph.

France World Cup Betting Markets

Stage of Elimination

  • Group Stage @ $10.00
  • Round of 16 @ $3.20
  • Quarter Final @ $4.00
  • Semi Final @ $4.50
  • Runners Up @ $8.00
  • Winners @ $7.00

Draw

Group:

France has been drawn in Group C with Australia, Peru and Denmark

Opponents:

Record vs Australia – W: 2, D: 1, L: 1

Last Meeting – 11 October 2013: France def Australia 6-0

Record vs Peru – W: 0, D: 0, L: 1

Last Meeting – 28 April 1982: France lost to Peru 0-1

Record vs Denmark – W: 8, D: 1, L: 4

Last Meeting – 11 October 2015: France def Denmark 2-1

Schedule:

Saturday 16th June – 8:00pm – France vs Australia

Friday 22nd June – 1:00am – France vs Peru

Wednesday 27th June – 12:00am – France vs Denmark

Group Ranking:

France are undeniably the best side in this group and are priced as such to win it outright.

They will be at a short price to win the first two games and if the third game has any meaning they will be favoured to win that one too.

Back France To Win Group C @ $1.29

World Cup History

Number of Appearances

14 – 1930, 1934, 1938, 1954, 1958, 1966, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014

Best Performance

Champions – 1998 (Defeated Brazil 3-0 in the Final)

Match Record & Goals Tally

Played: 59, Won: 28, Drawn: 12, Lost 19

Scored: 106, Conceded: 71

2018 Qualifying Campaign

Made the World Cup by…

France finished on top of UEFA Qualifying Group A giving them direct passage through to Russia.

Qualifying Record & Goals Tally

Played: 10, Won: 7, Drawn: 2, Lost: 1

Story to Watch

Expectations are very high for this French side and it will be interesting to see how they deal with all eyes being on them.

Two years ago they showed plenty of resolve to reach the Euro 2016 Final at home however this time they will not have the home support (or pressure) to spur them on.

If they get off to a good start against Australia, which many expect them to, they will be ahead of the curve going through the group and will be set up with an advantageous knockout draw.

France 2018 World Cup Squad

GOALKEEPERS

Hugo Lloris, Steve Mandanda, Alphonse Areola

DEFENDERS

Lucas Hernandez, Presnel Kimpembe, Benjamin Mendy, Benjamin Pavard, Adil Ramil, Djibril Sidibe, Samuel Umtiti, Raphael Varane

MIDFIELDERS

N’Golo Kante, Blaise Matuidi, Steven N’Zonzi, Paul Pogba, Corentin Tolisso

FORWARDS

Ousmane Dembele, Nabil Fekir, Olivier Giroud, Antoine Griezmann, Thomas Lemar, Kylian Mbappe, Florian Thauvin

Strongest Group

Take your pick from these groups really, each one is headlined by a world class player with the potential to take over a game single handedly.

Their attacking lineup is scary with at least one of Ousamane Dembele, Kylian Mbappe or Thomas Lemar likely to be coming off the bench after an hour to wreak more havoc.

If nothing else France has the potential to be one of the highest scoring teams in the tournament.

Weakness

If you are holding out hope for one of the other sides in Group C, you are hoping that France’s regular eight year implosion occurs once again.

Didier Deschamps has gone for a young side with plenty of potential however several of those big names have disappeared on the big stage before and will need to prove themselves here.

Notable Absentees

France’s absentee list could form a pretty competitive side in its own right with several big names set to watch the tournament from afar. Some of the biggest names from the biggest leagues in the world.

Alexandre Lacazette, Anthony Martial, Karim Benzema and Adrien Rabiot are just some of the names Deschamps omitted from his squad while injuries have ruled out Laurent Koscielny and Dimitri Payet.

Key Player

Antoine Griezmann

The (at the time of writing) Atletico Madrid attacking weapon was the leading goal scorer in Euro 2016 and will relish the chance to showcase himself on the big stage.

Griezmann is coming off a brace in the Europa League final and will form a dangerous strike duo with whoever he is paired with, most likely Olivier Giroud.

Back Antoine Griezmann to Win Player of the Tournament @ $13

Final Prediction

While there will be plenty of people in this part of the world hoping that France underachieves in the group stage, it is too hard to back against them to do anything other than comfortable make the knockout stages.

From there it becomes very interesting with a handful of intriguing knockout matches.

France are offering good value at being an upset chance in the Round of 16 against their Group D opponent and that is where their tournament may well end.

PREDICTION: ROUND OF 16

Best Bet: France to Win Each Group Game @ $2.63

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