Qatar 2022: France team preview, predicted squad and line-up for FIFA World Cup

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Kolkata, November 3: Expectations will be massive from France as they will look to defend their FIFA World Cup crown at Qatar 2022.

The biggest tournament in world football kicks off in less than three weeks’ time and France will head into the tournament as major favorites to retain their title.

Didier Deschamps' side had a Euro 2020 campaign to forget as they went out from the round-of-16 following a loss against Switzerland. This will be Les Bleus' sixteenth appearance in World Cup and they have won the honour on two occasions (1998, 2018).

In terms of squad strength and depth, there is hardly any team stronger than France in world football. We will have to wait and see how they fare in their World Cup defence.

Group

France find themselves in a Group D alongside Australia, Denmark, and Tunisia. Given the firepower they have at their disposal, it should be quite straight forward for them to top their group.

Injuries

France have several big injury issues right now with N'Golo Kante and Mike Maignan ruled out of the tournament already. Raphael Varane and Paul Pogba are also doubtful for the World Cup having suffered injuries of late. Lucas Hernandez is also making his comeback from an injury but should be fit in time.

Predicted starting XI

France manager Didier Deschamps has mostly opted for a 3-4-1-2 system in recent times. He has plenty of options and luxury to choose from a wide pool of players which makes predicting the starting XI quite a difficult job but we will try to predict the most likely XI.

Hugo Lloris; Benjamin Pavard, Raphael Varane, Presnel Kimpembe; Kingsley Coman, Eduardo Camavinga, Aurelien Tchouameni, Theo Hernandez; Antonie Griezmann; Karim Benzema, Kylian Mbappe

Key players

France have a near-perfect squad and has everything it takes to retain their World Cup crown. They have so much talent that naming the final squad will be a tricky task for Deschamps. Ballon d'Or winner Karim Benzema will certainly be a player worth keeping an eye on as will be his strike partner Kylian Mbappe. The duo of Eduardo Camavinga and Aurelien Tchouameni will also have to be at their best in the middle of the park in the absence of Kante and Pogba.

Prediction

France are arguably the safest pick for the World Cup glory.