France look to avenge 2016 loss

 

It is fair to say that France are the favourites heading into the Euros this summer. While one can be jealous of Germany’s midfield, Portugal’s attack or England’s right backs, it is quite clear that France have the most well-rounded squad which is nicely backed by great squad depth.

Their favouritism among bookies is not a surprise as they have dominated the last two major tournaments; Euro 2016 and World Cup 2018. While they were able to clinch their second World Cup title a few years ago, they failed to deliver in the 2016 edition of the European Championships which will still be in their heads.

France faced Portugal in the final and it required an extra time goal by Eder to take Portugal over the line. France will be keen to win the tournament this time around, which will take them to 3 Euro trophies, joint highest with Spain and Germany.

Didier Deschamps has a great set of players to choose from, but he is aware of how hard Group F is. France will face both Germany and Portugal in the group stage itself, which could result in an early exit for one of the heavy weight outfits.

The French coach recalled Karim Benzema after a 6-year absence with the national team. The Real Madrid number 9 has had two stellar league campaigns with the Galacticos, but no one expected him to be called back to the side.

“It can be effortless (between us),” the 33-year-old Benzema told Onze Mondial magazine. “I like his movement and the way he plays soccer. It’s down to us to find each other on the field, but I have no doubt about that.”

The reason Karim Benzema’s absence didn’t hurt France during all these years is because of the array of options they have up front. Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann have been 2 of their most important players recently but one has to commend Olivier Giroud for his contributions for France.

He is the second highest goal scorer for the nation behind Thiery Henry and will be a fantastic back up to Karim Benzema. This is a prime example of how strong their squad is and it will be a failure if they do not reach the finals of the tournament.