It's been 20 years since France had a taste of World Cup glory and the recent performance of the national team at Russia 2018 has given its fans every right to dream again. Despite a relatively slow start coupled with a draw and two scrappy wins at the group-stage, Didier Deschamps men have come out in full swing to emphasize why they remain a favorite to clinch the top gong at this year's tournament.
With a few players justifying their inclusion with top-notch performances, the highlight of France's campaign so far has been the implosive showing in the Round of 16 to knock out 2014 finalist Argentina via a 4-3 scoreline.
Consequently securing a quarter-final date with Uruguay, the 1998 World Cup winners will hope to carry on the momentum.
Tactics
Following an unsuccessful experiment with the 4-3-3 formation against Australia in the opening group game, Didier Deschamps resorted to the 4-2-3-1 setup and has since been the winning formula. Bar Corentin Tolisso who lost his place in the starting lineup to accommodate Blaise Matuidi in the win against Peru, the usual personnel have been maintained in the midfield throughout subsequent games.
For the forward line, Olivier Giroud's physicality up front has proved to be very crucial to the success story since gaining a starting berth ahead of Ousmane Dembele in the second group game.
Key team stats
• France has won five of its last six matches at the FIFA World Cup.
• Penalty shootouts excluded, France has lost only one of its last 11 games in the knockout stages of the World Cup (W8 D2); that came against eventual winners Germany in July 2014.
• France has won each of their last seven World Cup knockout matches in which they scored the opener.
• France has won with a goal margin in five of their last six World Cup matches.
• Blaise Matuidi is suspended for the quarter-final clash with Uruguay due to an accumulation of yellow cards
• Olivier Giroud has failed to score in his last 451 minutes at a major tournament. His last goal dates back to the Euro 2016 quarterfinal against Iceland.
Key players
1. Benjamin Pavard
Looking at France's star-studded squad, Pavard was undoubtedly the least well-known of the team coming into the tournament. However, he has justified his inclusion was with his immense work-rate and his constant surging attacking runs from the right back position.
Against Argentina, his perfectly executed volley proved to be vital to obtaining the 4-3 win. Having impressed consistently, Les Bleus will certainly count on his performance in upcoming games.
2. Ngolo Kante
The Chelsea man, as usual, has been brilliant in a midfield pair with Paul Pogba. His interception of decisive passes, tackles as well as his energy going to and fro have benefitted the French team greatly. Alongside Pogba, Les Bleus' attacking midfielders are able to surge forward knowing the couple has got them covered.
1. Kylian Mbappe
He was earmarked as one of the key players ahead of the competition and has certainly lived up to the hype. The exploits of the teenager are already known as he currently leads goalscoring chart in the French national team with his three goals in Russia.
Against Argentina, Mbappe became the first teenager since Pele to score twice in a knockout game at the World Cup. With him drawing a comparison with the legendary Brazilian as a result, then there is more to expect from the 19-year-old Paris Saint-Germain prodigy.
