Former World Champions are one of the favorites to let the trophy this summer in Russia. With a star-studded lineup and great prospects in all roles, France would be looking to win going into the World Cup campaign. The only time that France has been champions was in 1998 on home soil when they convincingly defeated Brazil 3-0 in the finals. Coming off a strong but yet dissatisfactory Euro campaign, France will look to capitalize in this tournament as they failed to in the finals against Portugal.
Defense
Hugo Lloris will stand in goal having established himself as the French goalkeeper for years and one of the best in Europe. He might even be given the captain band in the absence of Laurent Koscielny. Djibril Sidibe from AS Monaco would be expected to start at right-back coming off a good year in the Ligue 1. In the absence of Laurent Koscielny, we can expect FC Barcelona's Samuel Umtiti and Real Madrid's Raphael Varane to play as the two Center backs in a solid back 4. Benjamin Mendy has been absent for long due to his injury crisis and hence could see his place in the squad lost to PSG's Laywin Kurzawa.
Midfield
Manchester United's Paul Pogba and Chelsea's Ngolo Kante will man the midfield as the duo aspire to aid defensively and well as play their part among the goals. We could see many other midfielders be introduced as the World Cup gets underway because France does not lack any talent in the area. A few names that we could elect to see in the French midfield are Blaise Matuidi, who is a veteran and brings in a lot of experience to the young squad; Adrien rabbit, who has established himself for PSG and is one of the prospects in French football along with Bayern Munich's Tolisso.
Attack
When it comes to forwards, France lacks no talent. The French attack promises to give the fans goals as they have delivered in the past few years.
the expected formation would see a three-man attacking midfield behind the striker. Atletico Madrid's in-form striker Antoine Griezman will start in the central position with two prospects Ousmane Dembele and Kylian Mbappe on either side. Olivier Giroud will play as the striker in front of these three. France could go with many other options and can expect to see many other big names like Anthony Martial, Kingsley Coman, Dimitri Payet, Julian Draxler, Thomas Lemar, Alexandre Lacazette and Wissam Ben Yedder. Most of these players have proved goal machines and will see introduced at some point in the World Cup.
Expected lineup
France could put forth a 4-2-3-1 lineup with the following XI: Hugo Lloris, Djibril Sidibe, Samuel Umiti, Raphael Varane, Laywin Kurzawa, Ngolo Kante, Paul Pogba, Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann, Ousmane Dembele and Olivier Giroud.
In a team filled with star players, we could predict Antoine Griezmann to be the star player like he has on so many past occasions. Many French players will also be competing for the Golden Boot for the race with the most number of goals scored. France is one of the favorites for the tournament and we will see them qualify from their group with ease. The only factor that France lack in is experience which has proved to be a necessity when it comes to the big stages usually. France needs their veterans to step up and lead the team when given the opportunity.