France World Cup Betting

Odds: 16/1

Positives

It is quite difficult to find anything to get too excited about regarding this French side. A few things to say is that a small number of nations have actually won the World Cup throughout its history but France did so in 1998, they made it to the final (only losing on penalties) in 2006 and also that you should never underestimate a wounded animal. Perhaps being dismissed as no hopers by all and sundry will help them develop a siege mentality that can push them on in this tournament, but we really are clutching at straws here.

Negatives

First up it is worth remembering that it took an extremely controversial extra-time goal for France to see off Ireland and make it to this World Cup, it wasn’t the performance of World Champions and it certainly didn’t instil any confidence in those looking to back them here. Secondly, and the root of all of France’s major concerns, is their manager Raymond Domenech; he is not respected by the players, is despised by the French people and is loathed by the French media. His tactical decisions and team selections come under extreme scrutiny largely because they seem to go against all logic and reason and the pressure created is naturally transpiring onto the players and their performances and results.

They also have one of the more difficult groups in the World Cup which includes Mexico, South Africa and Uruguay.

Key Player(s)

Gone are the days when France could rely on Zinedine Zidane to single-handedly win them games and gone are the days when they had a solid defence made up of stalwarts like Frank Leboeuf, Marcel Dessaily and Laurent Blanc.

Thiery Henry is now the figurehead that the French people look to but his form for Barcelona this season has been extremely hit and miss; he will need to be on top of his game at this World Cup if they are to stand any chance of making it to the latter stages. Henry is the top goal scorer in the French squad by some distance having scored over 50 goals, he has well over 100 caps of experience to his name and although he was an unused substitute in the 1998 World Cup final he possesses a wealth of experience gained from playing and winning on football’s biggest stages.

France will be looking to winger Franck Ribery for the team’s creative spark, now at the mature age of 26 this World Cup will be seen as the time for him to realise his potential. The experienced gained from the 2002 World Cup and playing in the Champions League with Bayern Munich should mean that he has a bigger impact this time around and any eye-catching performances would considerably improve his chances of securing a move to one of Europe’s biggest clubs.

Best Bet

France will need to defy all expectations and show a complete turnaround in form if they are to even make the quarter-finals stage of this World Cup. They have been drawn in one of the trickier groups and tough games against Uruguay and Mexico could prove to be major stumbling blocks, so much so that it is not inconceivable that they will struggle to even make it past the group stages.

Back France to be eliminated at the Group Stages @ 7/2