Page 23 - Soccer360 Issue 106

NICKNAME: LES BLEUS S360 PREDICTION | 1ST PLACE
GROUP D - UEFA EURO 2024
FACTFILE
POPULATION:
68 million
EURO FINALS APPEARANCES: 10
BEST FINISH:
Winners, 1984, 2000
MOST MEMORABLE EUROS MOMENT: David Trezeguet’s Golden Goal winner against Italy in the final of Euro 2000.
HOW THEY GOT TO EURO 2024: An imperious qualifying campaign that saw them drop only two points.
LAST EUROS APPEARANCE: 2020 - Lost an epic 16 clash with Switzerland on penalties.
MOST CAPPED PLAYER: Hugo Lloris, 145 caps
LEADING INTERNATIONAL SCORER: Olivier Giroud, 57 goals
HOW TO FOLLOW:
OLIVIER GIROUD
VS AUSTRIA VS NETHERLANDS VS POLAND JUNE 17TH JUNE 21ST JUNE 25TH 3:00PM | EST 3:00PM | EST 12:00PM | EST
FIF2A RANKING ND
FRANCE
Two-time winners France are aiming to lift the Euros for the first time in 24 years and should be considered the favourites to prevail in Germany, according to Stephen Donovan.
EURO APPEARANCES: 10
EURO CHAMPIONSHIPS: 2
THEIR BEST THREE EUROS
2000
1984
2016
1ST
1ST
2ND
UEFA EURO OVERALL RECORD PLD:43 W:21 D:12 L:10
THE COACH:
DIDIER DESCHAMPS
Captain of the legendary side that won
the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000, Didier Deschamps has achieved similarly great feats as manager of the national team.
In a remarkable 12 years in charge, lifting the European Championships is the only silverware that has eluded him, so he will be doubly determined to set that particular record straight. His side are favourites to do just that.
KEY PLAYER:
KYLIAN MBAPPE
A player who needs no introduction. Pace, goals, and exceptional footballing ability set Kylian Mbappe apart as arguably the best in the world at present, and he’ll have his eyes on another international trophy ahead of his expected summer move to Real Madrid. He has unfinished business with the Euros too, as his missed penalty in the shootout against Switzerland saw them eliminated last time around.
THE TEAM TO BEAT
When you cast a look over the 24 teams competing at Euro 2024, only England with their marvellous array of attacking talent can legitimately challenge France’s claim
to be the favourites to win the tournament. There are, of course, other teams who are capable of going the distance, but none can match Les Bleus’ strength in depth across all areas of the field or indeed their track record at major finals over recent years.
So far the only thing missing is a European Championship title to go with the World Cup trophy they won in 2018 and so nearly retained in 2022. This will give them extra motivation as they arrive in Germany following a near flawless qualifying campaign which saw them win seven of their eight games and score some 29 goals in the process, including a double over the Netherlands - who they face again in their second Group D fixture on June 21.
Coach Didier Deschamps has brought through generations of talent during
his 12 years at the helm, and the current squad reflects that. William Saliba has developed into one of Europe’s top central defenders and is the natural successor to Raphael Varane; Real Madrid star Aurelien Tchouameni continue to progress as an outstanding midfielder, and even with Karim Benzema’s international career having come to an end, Deschamps arguably has his best ever set of attacking options. Experienced names such as Olivier Giroud and Antoine Griezmann still play a massive part. But all eyes will inevitably be on Kylian Mbappe, as the 25-year-old superstar looks to write his name all over the record books once again.
PROBABLE STARTING XI
DEMBELE
MBAPPE
GRIEZMANN
MUANI
KOUNDE
TCHOUAMENI
HERNANDEZ
RABIOT
PAVARD
UPAMECANO
MAIGNAN
SOCCER360 SUMMER 2024 21