France have the faithful smiling
The 1998 champions have burst out of the chasing pack and look like a live danger to the big boys of Brazil 2014, says Joe Dyer...
So, another tournament ends for England thanks to Costa Rica's stunning 1-0 defeat of Italy last night.
Acres of copy will be devoted to the inquest but with the World Cup just 10 days old we're in no mood to focus on the Three Lions' failures, not when Brazil 2014 continues to serve up such remarkable fare.
France continued their fantastic start to the tournament with a five goal destruction of Switzerland in yesterday's Group E showdown and now find themselves 12.011/1 fourth favourites to lift the trophy once again. Only Brazil (4.57/2), Germany (5.14/1) and Argentina (5.24/1) are a shorter price than Didier Deschamps' men.
The 1998 champions arrived at the World Cup with expectations low after flirting with disaster in the playoffs where they needed a 3-0 second leg win in Paris to get past Ukraine.
Even when drawn in a soft looking group containing Switzerland, Honduras and Ecuador, Deschamps' team were still ranked miles off the favourites and firmly in the second tier of contenders alongside Uruguay, Italy, England and behind Belgium.
Those odds have been turned on their head following two World Cup wins, with eight goals scored, and qualification for the knockout rounds all but assured.
Since beating Ukraine in November's qualifiers France are unbeaten in six matches, winning five, keeping clean sheets in four and scoring 23 goals. It's a record that pays tribute to the potent and balanced mix that Deschamps has assembled with goals coming from right across the team. Looks like he was right to leave Samir Nasri at home after all...
France should meet Bosnia in the second round and provided they get past that test will face Germany in the quarter-finals.
And that's the sort of match that should help us forget all about Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney and the rest of the Three Lions.
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