France squad, injuries and suspensions

In the World Cup final round, the France national team will perform for the 16th time. The tournament in Qatar will be the seventh in a row for the team: since the home World Cup in 1998 Les Bleus have not missed the main football tournament. The results of the France national team’s performances are very diverse – from total failures and relegations in the group stage to the World Cup victories (1998, 2018), silver (2006) and bronze medals (1958, 1986).

Path of France to the 2022 World Cup

At first sight, the current world champions qualified for the new tournament without major problems. The Didier Deschamps’ team never lost a match in their qualifying group and completed the qualifying cycle with a goal difference of +15. However, until the fifth round, the French regularly lost points playing against Ukraine and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In the final qualification part, there were no surprises from the France national team: three wins in a row and the first place in the group with a sufficient advantage. Ukraine, the nearest pursuer, which went to the mini-playoffs, was outperformed by the French by six points.

Rivals of France at the 2022 World Cup

In Qatar, Deschamps’ team will meet the national football teams of Australia, Denmark and Tunisia. While there should be no problems with the Australians and the African national team, Denmark is one of the main irritants for the French. France often plays against this team from Northern Europe and have not achieved victory in official matches since 2002.

Of course, there are no easy rivals at the World Cup, and the French can slip up in any match. Let’s not forget about the curse of this tournament – since 2010, the current trophy winner inevitably fails at the next world championship and does not qualify from the group. Les Bleus also have that experience – in 2002 the team ranked last in their group, being the current champion.

Before the start of the World Cup, France is one of the strongest teams of the tournament and one of the bookmakers’ favourites, being second after Brazil. Today, the French team is the fusion of youth and experience: it includes top world player Karim Benzema and the ageless Olivier Giroud, entering the zenith of their physical shape Kylian Mbappé, Christopher Nkunku and Ousmane Dembélé, as well as rising stars Eduardo Camavinga and Aurélien Tchouaméni. Simultaneously, due to injuries, top midfielders Paul Pogba and N'Golo Kanté will miss the championship, which will definitely affect the whole team.