Can France become just the third nation to defend the FIFA World Cup title? The chances are huge says our journalist Robin Duke.
The chances for Les Bleus to do so are huge considering Kylian Mbappe and Olivier Giroud’s form up top supported by Osmane Dembele and silent and unnoticed Antoine Griezmann, who have led them to the semi-finals.
France have found a winning formula under embattled coach Didier Deschamps.
In goal, Hugo Lloris has been solid with the back-four of Raphael Varane, Theo Hernandez, Dayot Upamecano and Jules Kounde.
Adrien Rabiot, who was heavily linked with a move to Manchester United during the off season, has been outstanding in the double pivot with Aurelien Tchouameni, with the latter scoring in the 2-1 victory over England in the quarter-final.
The diamond shape of Griezmann, who was terrific and swung both assists against the Three Lions, is knitting things well with Mbappe, who is joint-top goal scorer in the tournament, alongside Dembele and Giroud up top.
Impressively, France have not much depth in this World Cup on the bench, as Kingsley Coman and Benjamin Pavard are the only experienced players who Deschamps can call upon to shore in defence or when he needs some searing pace up front.
The former was the only player Deschamps only introduced in the win over England in the quarter-final.
Despite being lean on the bench, they have found a formula to win and Morocco, who are yet to see an opposition player score against them, will have their hands full in the semi-final at Al Bayt Stadium on Wednesday (21:00).
France are in the semi-final of the tournament without Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante, Paul Pogba, Lucas Hernandez, Presnel Kimpembe and Christopher Nkunku, who all picked up injuries before or during the tournament. Lucas Hernandez picked up an injury in the first game and was replaced by his brother, Theo, who has been outstanding in the defence.
One wonders if these players, of which four of them were in the starting line-up in the final against Croatia four years ago, were fit for this year’s competition.
If France wins this World Cup, they will join Italy and Brazil to lift the Jules Rimet trophy twice on the bounce.
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The Azzurri did it in 1934 by winning 2-0 with goals by Bibiani Orsi and Angelo Schiavo against Czechoslovakia. Four years later, they did the trick as they beat Hungary 4-2 through a pair of braces by Luigi Colaussi and Silvio Piola.
Brazil were the second team to defend the World Cup after lifting it in 1958 and 1962. In 1958, Brazil beat Sweden 5-2 with braces from Pele and Edvaldo Neto and Mario Zagallo adding the other.
In 1962, Brazil under coach Aymore Moreira, beat Czechoslovakia 3-1. Vava, known as Edvaldo Neto, scored with the other goals coming from Tavares de Silveira and Jose Miranda.
Brazil attempted to win twice again. After they won in their overall fourth title in 1994 in California, USA, under former Bafana Bafana coach Carlos Alberto Perreira, but they lost the final four years later to France in 1998.
Argentina also tried to win it twice on the trot but couldn’t. Diego Maradona single-handedly lead them in 1986 in Mexico, with the superstar also coming close four years later in 1990 in Italy.
But Argentina lost 1-0 when Andreas Brehme scored a winning penalty for Germany in the 85th minute. Maradona was left in tears afterwards as he couldn’t bear the pain of losing the biggest football event in the world.
Can France and this generation around superstar Kylian Mbappe do the unthinkable and defend their title? Well, first they need to find a way past Morocco on Wednesday night…
Story by Robin-Duke Madlala (@duke_robin).
