World Cup 2014 Team Guide: France

Olivier Giroud will be required to chip in with goals

With many people tipping les Bleus as potential dark horses, regular Ligue 1 columnist James Eastham casts an eye over the team's strengths and weaknesses...

Road to Brazil

France produced a fairly decent run of results during the qualifiers - there was no shame in finishing second behind World Cup holders Spain in European Group I (17pts from eight games), with the high point of the group campaign the point France earned in a 1-1 draw on Spanish soil. Didier Deschamps' side then reached Brazil by staging a remarkable comeback in the play-offs, overturning a 2-0 first-leg defeat against Ukraine in Kiev by winning 3-0 in the return encounter in Paris.

The Manager

Didier Deschamps captained France to World Cup victory in 1998 and has had success everywhere he has coached. At the age of 35 he led Monaco to the Champions League final (2004), then guided Juventus to the Serie B title (2007) and won Ligue 1 and domestic cups with Marseille (2010 and 2011). Highly influenced by his spell as a player at Juventus in the 1990s, he insists on tactical discipline in all areas of the pitch and is excellent at setting-up sides to be difficult to beat.

Key men

Franck Ribry was France's top scorer and assist provider during the qualifiers, with five goals and six assists in 10 games. The three-man midfield of Yohan Cabaye, Paul Pogba and Blaise Matuidi will be among the best in the tournament if they gel. Captain Hugo Lloris is particularly important because of doubts over the defence that will line-up in front of him (more below). It is disputable whether anybody else deserves to be labelled a key man - France have other good players, such as Karim Benzema and Mathieu Valbuena, but also good understudies in these positions.

Talking Point

The main question facing France is: how will their unproven back four stand up against the tournament's better attacks? The four centre-backs (Koscielny, Sakho, Varane and Mangala) are all inexperienced, left-back Patrice Evra's ageing legs are a weak spot and the overall lack of a settled unit is a concern. Then there's the issue of where the goals will come from. The squad lacks a single prolific finisher, a player that would be worth a wager in the Golden Boot market - although in the build-up to the finals there have been signs that goalscoring for France could successfully be a squad effort, with the likes of Loic Remy and Oivier Giroud capable of contributing even though they're unlikely to be in the starting XI. After the chaos of the Raymond Domenech era (2004-10) and the players' strike on a training field in South Africa four years ago, there will be questions about the spirit in the squad, as there were at Euro 2012. However, on that front, so far, it's so good.

Best Bet

France to win Group E may seem an obvious choice, but backing France to top their group at odds of around 1.855/6 is a great bet. In one of the easiest pools - they face Switzerland, Ecuador and Honduras - Deschamps' pragmatic approach should produce immediate results, enabling France to cruise through smoothly to the knock-out stages.

Value Bet

Thanks to their favourable opening-round draw les Bleus have a fairly comfortable route to the quarter-finals. Should things go according to plan, France will need to beat only one heavyweight side to make the last four. On that basis, their odds of 4.57/2 to To Reach Semi Final is a decent bet that could offer green-book opportunities if and when Deschamps' side make the last eight.