How Good IS France?

   The 2018 World Cup was a bizarre tournament, full of curious comebacks, upsets, own goals and unassisted goals like penalties or free kicks: so...in a nutshell, it was a disjointed competition.
   France won the World Cup by not only being the most unpredictable team (as well as the deepest) but because they could endlessly adapt to every style, formation or tactical setup and go for glory.
   They hit Belgium on the counter and scrapped for possession, making it a push and pull fight that ended up wasting and draining Belgium's energy in attack; they passed Uruguay to death; then, Deschamps sent everyone forward in an attacking frenzy against Argentina (in the Round of 16) and Croatia in the final; they played like shit and got lucky against Australia, and could've scored 5 or 6 goals (but only grabbed 1 and should've allowed a few) against Peru.
    Not too many players were swapped out  throughout the tournament, with Didier Deschamps favoring a spine of Lloris, Umtiti and Varane, Kante and Pogba and up top, Griezmann, Giroud, and Mbappe.
   The personnel afforded France numerous ways of winning, including being forced to replace two injury-ravaged and barely fit fullbacks (Djibril Sidibe of Monaco and Benjamin Mendy, formerly from Monaco, currently at City)

Mendy and Sidibe (from left)

on the cusp of the warm-up matches, with natural center backs Benjamin Pavard and Lucas Hernandez coming out of the shadows of France's continuous talent field to deputize (after Pavard in particular played wonderfully in a few matches at the end of qualifying.
    At left back, Lucas Hernandez (brother of Theo) filled in almost at default, and the two of them harvested before our eyes, with Pavard contributing the goal of the World Cup and Hernandez producing the assist for that goal and another assist in the final to Mbappe.

   Before the World Cup, 98% of French fans and futbol purists would've never seen this coming...France winning it all with backup full backs????
   Most saw France in the group stage and thought "wow..another unreal French team that plays like crap" such was the slow pace of the players as they grew to know each other.
    They scored 3 goals in 3 games in the group stage, one being an own goal (should've just been credited to Pogba), yet in the knock out stages, France delivered 11 goals, loosening the reigns and winning in mostly comfortable fashion, dominating without the ball, controlling the tempo with it and all in between.

     France utilized their aerial ability and towering height advantage in defense and in midfield, as well as deploying Olivier Giroud (over a few better strikers) due to his expert aerial dueling and Griezmann's  ability to run on to Giroud's aerial touches. The aerial battle is key in transition and instilling dominance in the midfield possession game, with frequent battles between heads in the air resulting in combination play on-the-ground and later, maybe a goal.
     Players like Umtiti and Pogba were so valuable for France that summer in Russia: their aerial duels becoming through balls when they launched their heads into the fray to lump it up the pitch, always for a target.
     France were so sloppy, so brilliant and also casually careless in their absolute comfort, knowing that they held the cards physically, mentally and in the execution department, especially when following the template of: an early goal followed by constant tactical adaptation, something which happened in nearly every match and gave them complete control from the start, allowing their youngsters to mess up as well as excel.

     Why are France so good, to the point they shrugged when allowing 3, or 2 goals to Argentina or Croatia, and responded dutifully with 4 of their own in each match, refusing to back down or be pushed around?
      Remember, Argentina took the lead in the 2nd half and Messi had 2 assists and had his best performance of the tournament, yet it still wasn't enough to conceal the raw greatness of this young batch of players, no matter what the combination of them are presented on the pitch. Against Croatia in the final, they rode adversity as the favorite for the 2nd international tournament, losing to Portugal in Euro 2016 without Ronaldo to battle against after 8 minutes...so, in a World Cuo final they're wildly expected to pull off, two years after crushing disappointment, imagine their anxieties  after Croatia continually caused issues for them despite another Griezmann contribution taking the lead yet again, the Croatian midfield were dominant and it looked as if France were going to be out-coached and out-run in that final.
      Yet, there was always a quiet, confident and assured edge to them (led by Mbappe, Griezmann, and Pogba) that teams couldn't breach.
     But the obvious reason France is so good?
     Because they have the most cavernous footballing resources, personnel-wise, in football history at this very moment and one wouldn't be shocked (looking at this bevy of talent) if they won the next 3 World Cups...

Dortmund's young French defensive duo (from left) Abdou Diallo and Dan-Axel Zagadou

        At center back (players under 24): Varane, Umtiti, Laporte and Lenglet are both yet to be selected let alone capped, Upamecano, Dan-Axel Zagadou, Abdou Diallo, Jean-Clair Todibo, Kurt Zouma, Presnel Kimpembe, Diakhaby, Issa Diop, Malang Sarr...

the list goes on and on and that's just the pure center backs, not counting Pavard and Lucas who play both defensive positions admirably. The fullbacks: (all under 26) Pavard, Lucas, Sidibe, Benjamin and Ferland Mendy, Lucas Digne, Layvin Kurzawa, Nordi Mukiele, Ballo-Toure has played well at Monaco as well as his teammate Almamy Toure, and Abdou Diallo is also capable in the left back spot, too (and that is only the tip of the iceberg).
     That doesn't even completely cover the youth pipeline at defender, but in midfield, covering defensive to center mid, you've got (age 26 or younger): Pogba, N'Golo Kante, Corentin Tolisso
(who Bayern missed greatly this season), Lyon's extremely young but fascinating pair Tanguay Ndombele and Houssem Aouar (the latter chose France over Algeria), Lucas Tousart (another Lyon player) and even AC Milan's Tiemoue Bakayoko (once dubbed the future of the French midfield) tries to regain his 2017 Monaco form, among a host of others.
     Then, up top it becomes beyond ridiculous as Kylian Mbappe has already gained the experience and ultra-confidence of winning and leading a team to a World Cup while still a teen; Nabil Fekir
shows outrageous promise as the potential future "#10" (and he featured in 6 of the 7 World Cup matches), Ousmane Dembele brings world class creation, speed, dribbling and finishing and has a winner's medal as well, Thomas Lemar

From left: Mendy, Lemar, Dembele

is in a poor stretch at his new club Atletico, but he's still a world class talent and played well in the World Cup against Denmark; Kingsley Coman is another winger who was fantastic in Euro 2016, but missed this last summer's triumph due to an ACL tear; Alexandre Lacazette would start in 99% of international teams yet can hardly make the France squad at all despite his close friendship with Griezmann; Anthony Martial (played in Euro 2016 final, was out of the 2018 World Cup) barely gets in the team as a 15 goal 10 assist forward, Florian Thauvin can score 30 goals and 10+ assists a season and still only appear once in the last World Cup, Moussa Diaby shocks and impresses when playing for PSG and is a great young talent, while Griezmann is 28 and could potentially play in one more World Cup, Alassane Plea scores goals for fun in the Bundesliga and Ligue 1 and is rarely called up, Sebastian Haller has 15+ goals and 12 assists for Frankfurt but can't get a sniff, Moussa Dembele has starred for Lyon at times and only has a few caps, ...to add to the list, we must mention two extremely young attacking midfielders and forwards: Amine Gouiri, Willem Guebbels and Yacine Adli have destroyed many in the U-21 squads and will be future superstars in world football.

Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris lifts the 2018 World Cup this last summer as captain.

      Even their goalkeepers are solid for the next decade plus, with Hugo Lloris capable of wearing the armband and participating in the next three World Cups, Alphonse Areola from PSG being dominant and fantastic against Germany last fall and was a part of a World Cup winning squad, and the reserves are Benoit Costil and Steve Mandanda, both firm starting goalkeepers and Mandanda has a World Cup clean sheet to his name (Denmark, 2018 World Cup).
       Youth can only take you so far in international tournaments, which is why the likes of Olivier Giroud and Blaise Matuidi may be included time and time again not only for their routine committed performances, but their willingness to play anywhere and do anything to help the team win. Matuidi played out of his natural center, or even defensive midfield position to play as a pseudo left-wingback/ left midfielder tracking back and stomping out any and all of Belgium or Croatia'd extra runs from midfield or even closing the overlapping run routes for Vrsaljko, these players do the dirty work though usually still grab the assists,  or the goals, they generally are selected time and time again as a lasting example of professionalism in the French kit, something every national team needs but especially France after the debacle of 2010.
      Antoine Griezmann is in the same status, despite this late bloomer not being picked for France's senior team until his mid 20s, Griezmann has been rampant whenever he dons the Les Bleus kit, rarely missing out on goals when he's in the area. Who knows how many records the Fortnite playing fiend would have if young talents outside of France had been recognized as they are now, though luckily for him his rise in the national team  (beginning in 2013) coincided with Deschamps taking over after Laurent Blanc's failed Euro 2012 run. 
      I myself will wonder why they keep starting every single French match over some of the young talent getting a chance to play more than 10 minutes, hell maybe even start a random Euro 2020 qualifier against a small nation.
       It's the reason Pogba has been undroppable and suddenly very droppable ...it's what Americans would understand as the Belichick factor: if you resemble the mentality and the effort the manager displays and possesses, you will always play. Look at Benjamin Pavard keeping Djibril Sidibe on the bench against Moldova.
       But no...as long as they're fit and can move, Deschamps will start Griezmann, Matuidi and Olivier Giroud.
      Having such a plethora of options would usually confound and destroy the mental well-being of any manager, yet Didier Deschamps has shown a ruthless streak in his selection process, while also giving many players regular second, or even third chances (Benzema, Ribery and Valbuena aren't included here).

      Though, depth like this does guarantee intense competition for places that creates a brilliant and strong work ethic among all players, as no spot is guaranteed, thus making all players equal, with only the highest performing and healthiest players making the starting XI, with the rest left to scrap for the 7+ spots on the bench.
      The qualifying for Euro 2020 has begun, with France being able to field a litany of players in these matches (Moldova, Iceland, Turkey etc) while Deschamps will be aiming to find the proper balance in all three phases of the game.
     Most of us, including myself, are looking to France as the next great juggernaut in world football, taking after the Spain team that conquered  Euro 2008, the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012.
     This team could accomplish even more than the Spain (2008-2012) and France (1998-2000, 2006) teams.
     If Pique or Ramos, maybe Iniesta or David Villa went down all at once for those Spain teams, we don't feel they had the same caliber of backups to maintain the highest of levels. While this French side has so many options that their D or E squad is capable of competing in a Euro 2020 semifinal, if not winning it all.
     It should be interesting to see if Benjamin Mendy, the often hurt left back, can carve his way back into the side as his rampaging and bullish strength, size and speed on the left wing is an absolute mismatch against any opposing right back or right winger.
     Mendy had 8 assists in 6 matches at the start of the season, including one from the bench in his last appearance for France, clearing pointing out what an attacking machine he is, with France scoring 2.1 more goals a match with him in the lineup.
     As for these upcoming matches, where Mendy and Ousmane Dembele are out injured, look for Nabil Fekir to hopefully start and flourish for Les Blues.
     Since he broke out in 2015, Fekir has suffered a broken leg (suffered during international duty vs Portugal) and an ACL tear, missing nearly two full seasons and Euro 2016, a tournament Deschamps admitted the Lyon captain would've started in had he been fit.

     With this shuffling up top, where one international break has Mbappe, Griemann, Fekir and Giroud, the next will only have Dembele, Griezmann and Mbappe. The shuffle up top continues to destroy what should be the starting top four in attack for Les Blues: Fekir at center attacking mid, Griezmann at striker and Mbappe and Dembele on either wing.
     If that front four can be utilized together in a single match for France, finally, they would unlock the basis of their attacking majesty for the next three tournaments, at least.

It has always been either one or the other: Griezmann or Fekir

   








    We've only seen three of those four playing together at any one time, yet we know from our match-proof witness, that Dembele and Mbappe are a mean combination when used together (see: England, summer 2017) and we know Griezmann and Mbappe can combine, such as they proved in 6 or 7 World Cup matches this summer.
     If Deschamps can finally formulate the front four of Griezmann, Dembele, Mbappe and Fekir, with Kante and Pogba in midfield and both of their best fullbacks Sidibe and a fit Benjamin Mendy on the wings, then the sky is the limit for this French side.
     As for the tried and true of the last two tournaments, Samuel Umtiti returns after nearly 9 months out of the French team as he's dealt with a few knee problems, neglecting the surgeries he was due to have this last summer (he postponed them for the World Cup, but then postponed them after the final, too) so he could declare himself fit for both Barcelona and his country.

      Is it too soon to throw Umtiti back onto the pitch, this fast? When he's barely playing for Barcelona? There is no one doubting Umtiti's colossal abilities, frankly he's as valuable to Barcelona as Laporte is to City, or Varane to Madrid, Giminez to Atletico, and he not only carries that form into the French squad, he's delivered at a frightening pace
       Hell, Umtiti's rise was on the heels of a potentially catastrophic injury to Raphael Varane before Euro 2016, then (a Didier Deschamps favorite) Adil Rami went down on the cusp of the knockout stages, only to see the then virtually unknown Samuel Umtiti take his position alongside Laurent Koscielny, shutting out Germany in the semis in a breakout performance for the Frenchman, and the rest is history.
         The depth, the experience, the overwhelming talent gap, the value they pose for their clubs...a manager who (even if i can barely stomach a lot of his decisions) has made France World champions and now potential European champions, going for their first European title since 2000.....France seems to have all the ingredients for a dynasty.

Vincent Guerin: the great French #10, in the time of Zidane... forgotten by history

         This collection of talent brings to mind the French squad of the late 90s and into the early 2000s: Henry, Zidane, Thuram, Abidal, Gallas, Makalele, Trezeguet, Anelka, Desailly, Lizarazu, Deschamps himself stroking the midfield like a dictatorial little Napolean and Laurent Blanc are the names we remember, though many fell by the wayside as bit-part contributors, even as we felt they'd become the chosen ones:  Franck Suazee, Eric Cantona, Sidney Govou, Florent Malouda, Sylvain Wiltord, Mikael Silvester, Dugarry, Djorkaeff, Papin, even the complete unknown Vincent Guerin was the talisman and true #10 before Zidane, carving out 5 assists in a single match against Azerbaijan in France's record 10-0 victory in the mid 90s.

        In the end, Guerin was another, like Suazee, completely lost in football history while Zidane, Henry, Blanc etc will be remembered forever.
       It's interesting to wonder which of these prominent talents will fall by the wayside of history in the present French team...
      Could France have won the World Cup in 1998 without Zidane, Blanc, Thuram or Deschamps? Could they have done it in Euro 2000 without Henry or Trezeguet?
      We're not so sure, they didn't have to prove themselves with that type of test, though this French team has.
       Could the 2006 team survive a typically rugged group stage and get past an embryonic future dynasty in Spain, star-studded Brazil and Ronaldo and Figo's last stand against Portugal all without Zidane, or even Henry or the young Ribery?
      No they couldn't, it was why they lost the final, thanks Zidane and Raymond Domenech (Zissou and the headbutt felt around the world, and France's disastrous manager Raymond Domenech substituting both Henry and Ribery only minutes before penalties and the Zidane headbutt, easily the worst substitutions of all time.
     Could this current French side lose Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann only a week before Euro 2020 and win the tournament?
       Yes they could.
       Could Belguim lose Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne right before Euro 2020 and win it all still?
       No they couldn't and they wouldn't. 

       One would hope someone like Jardim from Monaco, or perhaps Lucien Favre (the Dortmund and former Nice manager) could take the reigns from Didier Deschamps either prior to, or after Euro 2020 considering Deschamps has been at the helm since August 2012.
       Since that time we've seen things change drastically for France by the tournament :
Euro 2012 had a rising young Karim Benzema, fresh from his ridiculous exclusion from the embarrassing 2010 World Cup, Franck Ribery and Jeremy Menez scoring on the wings, Samir Nasri was the creative force, Yohan Cabaye was flying around midfield and Koscielny, Debuchy, Patrice Evra and Rami were in behind.
       Go to Brazil in 2014

and it's Mathieu Valbuena in for the injured Ribery, Benzema as the talisman, a rotating cast of Varane, Koscielny and Sakho at the back, Nasri had been sent packing due to being a poor teammate and Paul Pogba, Olivier Giroud and Antoine Griezmann were mere babes.

      Flash to Euro 2016:

 and we saw both Benzema and Valbuena banned outright from the national team for a sex tape / extortion scandal, Griezmann takes the reigns along with Olivier Giroud, Dimitri Payet is the creator and after a host of injuries, Umtiti and Koscielny at center back, Bacary Sagna finally getting to start a tournament at right back for the duration and Anthony Martial barely appeared from the bench as the hot new super talent.

     We didn't even fathom Kylian Mbappe at this juncture, but what other international side could handle this type of turnover and still produce? Let alone still win?
      France don't have a singular identity, yet, they neither dominate the ball, nor blitz the opponent. They can play patient, then they can put the pedal to the metal...this adaptivity is what makes them pure footballing geniuses in this modern day and age of football where transition, pressure on the ball, aerial duels and pure athletic talent are winning the wars over possession statistics, managerial tactics and any other means.
      We wonder how much better they could be if Deschamps wasn't such a mercenary in his management, if he wasn't so cold to a basic formation and spine utilizing youth (Dembele, Mbappe, Sidibe, Mendy, Umtiti) and a sprinkling of his experienced greats (Griezmann, Pogba, Lloris) in lieu of his obsession with Blaise Matuidi as a left winging defending midfielder and Olivier Giroud's bloated striking play.
       If France adapted a style not unlike Liverpool, with a sprinkling of Barcelona-esque possession tactics, they would not only out-pass and out-score most nations, they would legitimately blow most out of the water, with truly fantastic specimens top to bottom that have been trained to perform world class abilities on the ball, under pressure (with some of their center backs being among the most cultured passers in the game) and with the added confidence and experience that winning a World Cup and appearing in a European final in the last 2 1/2 years giving them that added boost.

      Physically speaking, France are head and shoulders above any other nation, with both size, skill, speed, club status and stature putting them in pole position to win any trophy in sight as long as this core can stay healthy, hungry and happy.
      What has usually killed off the best French sides: the mentality.

      The French squad of 2010 wasn't the only French team riddled with discord, as the 2006 World Cup team was as well, with most of that squad being replete with veterans in their twilight and years of baggage floating among that particular squad. This French team is only seen smiling together, laughing, going to Disneyland, posting GIFs of each other and hilarious digs through social media, proving they don't take themselves as seriously as the Benzema / Ribery / Nasri / Valbuena era of French football.
        They've already won a World Cup and some of these players competed in the Euro 2016 final, yet they don't take themselves as seriously as those other sides who didn't even get out of a group stage at times....
        Kylian Mbappe could be selfish, disruptive and as egotistical as many have acted after they've accomplished a tenth of what he has...Griezmann could be angrily vying for power and control in attack, disgusted with Mbappe's meteoric rise. Fekir could be plotting a move back to playing for Algeria, unsatisfied with his current bit-part role (in the absence of Ousmane Dembele, Fekir still couldn't grab a start against Moldova)..the list goes on and on.
         Unselfishness finds itself at the spine of this French squad, and when combined with the flair of youth, the grind of experience and an almost supernatural amount of talent, you will win.
        It should be an eternally interesting time to be a French football fan...