France Aim to Return to 1998 World Cup Glory

France Aim to Return to 1998 World Cup Glory

France Aim to Return to 1998 World Cup Glory

📅02 May 2014, 11:45

The French have proved time and time again that they are a world class team. The side reached its peak when it won the 1998 World Cup and the European Championships in 2000. However, recent years have brought less impressive results, the team failed to progress past the group stage of the 2010 World Cup and only reached the quarter-finals of the 2012 European Championship.

Style

Under Didier Deschamps the team normally plays in 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 formation. The team are compact and competitive in midfield and enjoy passing the ball rapidly round the team. France is known for playing with flair but in recent years the team has backed this up with strong defence.

Strengths

While the team may have qualified via a play-off, France was one of just four sides not to have dropped any points from winning positions. The team attacks well from a distance with almost a quarter of goals coming from outside the box.
The team’s defence is also impressive and appears to be well organised, it conceded the fifth lowest shares of goals from inside the six yard box.

Weaknesses

The team’s attack is probably its greatest weakness. It is very rare to see goals scored early on in the game, and in almost a third of qualifying games the team failed to score altogether. Furthermore, very few successful attacks have been carried out down the left hand side.
The team may have to start attacking and scoring from close range and aerially if they hope to consistently overcome stubborn defence lines and be in a chance with winning the Cup.

World Cup Group Stage