The French team is not as deep as the world first feared

The good news for France was that they had already progressed to the Round of 16. The less reassuring news was that their coveted side seemed to lack the depth that many believed it possessed.

France’s defeat to Tunisia saw the reigning champions change nine of their eleven players from the previous game, joining the tournament’s most changed team to date. In itself an understandable move by manager Didier Deschamps; with his team already through as group winners, why not rest his key players before the tournament evolves into a knockout competition and he needs to be able to rely on them for possibly four games in 14 days.

However, what would have worried him is that this new team hardly resembled world champions.

Current World Cup champions are not favorites

Before a ball was kicked in Qatar, many spectators looked enviously at the French team. Their team was brimming with talent across the field and their front line alone left enough to cause concern for even the toughest of defenses. Moreover, they knew how to win, both the team and the manager collected the biggest prize in the sport.

But then the injuries came in, and not just to fringe players. Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante, the creativity and enforcement at the heart of their midfield, were both ruled out early. Raphaël Varane was forced off the pitch while on duty for Manchester United and his position was not guaranteed. His possible centre-back Presnel Kimpembe was also ruled out. Breakthrough striker Christpher Nkunku was injured in training, Karim Benzema was forced to withdraw and in the first game they lost their only established left back, Lucas Hernandez.

Suddenly the reserves had to become starters. A new and untested midfield combination Aurelien Tchouameni and Adrien Rabiot were called up. A likely third-choice centre-forward, Olivier Giroud was made first-choice, a second string of back four started in their opening game and the usually pragmatic Deschamps was forced to abandon his safety-first approach and recognize where his team’s strength lay. lay and start from the beginning with four attacking players.