France
France - Group E (Switzerland, Ecuador, Honduras)
France is the one of the two teams, along with Argentina to win all the three major international football tournaments, World Cup, Confederations Cup and Olympics, organized by FIFA. Its considered to be one of the founding member of FIFA, although there were some initial disagreements due to existence of multiple organizations. They were also one of the four European teams to take part in inaugural World Cup, scoring the first ever cup goal
Profile - The Blues
Along with Brazil and USA, France is one of the three teams who has always entered the World Cup, either the finals or the qualifiers, in every edition of the tournament. French national team is represented by talented multi-ethnic players symbolizing ethnic diversity existent in France, and often produced world class players
France is always a force to reckon at world stage. The current team features a right balance between organized defense and controlled attack. They are prone to inconsistency though as their attack force oscillates between scoring heavily and firing blanks
Confederation: UEFA (Europe)
Coach: Didier Deschamps (FRA)
FIFA Ranking: 16 (8-May-2014)
Nickname: Les Bleus (The Blues)
Key Players: Evra, Benzema, Varane
Legends: Platini, Zidane, Fontaine
World Champions: 1998
History - Win Them All
Although France trails by the amount of trophies won, they made it up by winning them all at least once. They have won the World Cup in 1998, Olympic medal in 1984, Confederations Cup twice, in 2001 and 2003, out of two tourneys it has participated, Euro Cup in 1984 and 2000. To go along they were also the finalists in 2006 World Cup and won a Silver Medal at inaugural football tournament at Olympics in 1900
Qualification - Playoffs
Having been drawn with defending champs Spain in a 5 member Group I, France failed to win the group, losing just a match to Spain, but was eligible for playoffs. They were on the brink of elimination, for the first time since 1994, when they lost the first leg of the playoffs 2-0 against Ukraine. They made an inspiring come back to win the return leg 3-0 and qualified for their fourteenth World Cup
Prospects - Force to Reckon
France faces a very straightforward draw when they are placed in Group E with no big names. Their only concern would be to break the Swiss resilience at the back
If they top the group, as expected, they face a possibility of encountering Germany in the quarters and Brazil in the semis. Their road to the final would be tough owing to lack of big names in their ranks
Squad
Didier Deschamps announced a 23-man final squad, with seven reserves, on May 13
June 6: Franck Ribery and Clement Gernier ruled out of injuries
June 6: Franck Ribery and Clement Gernier ruled out of injuries
Goalkeepers:
Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur), Steve Mandanda (Olympique Marseille), Mickael Landreau (Bastia)
Defenders:
Mathieu Debuchy (Newcastle United), Lucas Digne (Paris St Germain) Patrice Evra (Manchester United), Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal), Eliaquim Mangala (Porto), Bacary Sagna (Arsenal), Mamadou Sakho (Liverpool), Raphael Varane (Real Madrid)
Midfielders:
Yohan Cabaye (Paris St Germain), Morgan Schneiderlin (Southampton), Blaise Matuidi (Paris St Germain), Rio Mavuba (Lille), Paul Pogba (Juventus), Moussa Sissoko (Newcastle United), Mathieu Valbuena (Olympique Marseille)
Forwards:
Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), Olivier Giroud (Arsenal), Antoine Griezmann (Real Sociedad), Loic Remy (Newcaste United), Remy Cabella (Montpellier)
Fixtures
France vs Honduras on June 15 at Porto Alegre
Switzerland vs France on June 20 at Salvador
Ecuador vs France on June 25 at Rio De Janeiro
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