In the history of the FIFA world cup, France won the tournament on two occasions, in 1998 and 2018. And for the 2022 world cup, France is the number one contender to claim the trophy again but it has been evident from the past that champion countries could not repeat their success in the world cups.
The invincibility of any nation is not applicable in the case of the soccer world cup. Even smaller countries (Croatia) can outperform bigger nations. Here are the possible reasons, why France cannot win the FIFA world cup 2022:-
1. World Cup Winner Curse/ Curse of the champions
History is the biggest enemy for Les Blues on their way for the consecutive World Cup triumphs.
The champion’s curse in the FIFA world cup is always the talking point among sports enthusiasts, it refers to the inability of the champions to repeat their winning feat and defend their title 4 years later in the tournament.
No country has won the world cup two times in a row since 1962. This had happened two times in the history of the FIFA world cup when Italy lifted the trophy in 1934 and 1938, and Brazil in 1958 and 1962.
From the last three world cup tournaments, it is evident that defending champions could not go beyond the group stages.
The reason for the winner’s curse could be the aged players, psychological pressure to perform, and the inefficiency of the coaching staff.
2. Overconfidence
Confidence makes but over-confidence breaks. There is a fine line between these two. These lines hold true in each and every aspect of human life.
In the football world cup, there is cut-throat competition between nations, a single mistake could be the reason for the ouster from the tournament.
Some top football players got easy success in their club for a season and think that this will continue forever, and in that way underestimates opponents’ ability.
These athletes occasionally look ahead to a rival they perceive as being more competitive than their competition and ignore the fact that how motivated the rival is to beat you on a bad day.
When you underestimate a competitor, you fail to take into account their level of effort, and their desire to pull off an unexpected victory.
The French national team is full of world-class players who are coming with the burden of being champions.
If overconfidence takes over the minds of players, managers, and coaching staff it led to an inability to change and innovate new techniques and constantly wants to repeat their winning ingredients on and on until it becomes cliched.
3. Dressing room atmosphere
The dressing room is a place that can be defined by great coordination or intense dissatisfaction, where games can be won or lost before a ball is even kicked.
The dressing room rumors of banter between players and managers are always being speculated, but nothing comes out in public.
Back in the 2018 world cup, the chemistry between players in the dressing room of the German team was not that good, several controversies erupted about players having disputes, which led to a shameful ouster of the team at the group stages.
Kylian Mbappe is a great football player and has won many championships and a world champion tag under his name at just 22 years of age. He is famous for his bad attitude towards his teammates Messi and Neymar in PSG and is accused by media outlets, of selfishness since he has not assisted yet for any goal in the current season for the club.
In the past few performances, it can be seen that France team players lack coordination.
It is the responsibility of the manager to maintain the cheerful atmosphere of the dressing room.
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4. Predictability
It is generally seen that defending champions lack creativity, and their way of progressing in the game could be anticipated in advance.
Spain won the world cup in 2010 but could not clear the group stage in 2014 because their style of play, ‘Tiki-Taka ’ became predictable, and their gameplay was exposed and anticipated with the help of a counterattack by the Netherland, despite having specialist players.
5. Too much talent in a team
The collective approach of the players and manager on and off the field is necessary for sports like football.
In soccer players are primarily involved in club matches. Presently, France has specialists in form players for every position on the field.
Sometimes, your strength works against your advantages.
It is recently exposed in the UEFA nations league matches where the French national team’s performance is not up to the mark and players lacked chemistry. They have to face defeat against Croatia and Denmark.
Despite all the reasons mentioned above, one cannot afford to underestimate the strengths of the French National Team. In the group stages of FIFA WC 2022, the French team will compete with Australia, Denmark, and Tunisia. The players like Mbappe and Greizmann can flip the face of the game in their favor at any time. This team has all the ingredients that can make them champions again.
FAQ
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How many world cups has France won?
France had won world cups on two occasions(1998 and 2002)