Outright Odds: 12/1
Group G Winners: 1/2
France were required to call on the cavalry to ensure qualification to the finals. Stuck in fourth place in their group, retired veterans Zinedine Zidane, Claude Makelele and Lilian Thuram returned to the side in an attempt to turn around the fortunes of the failing side.
A precious 1-0 win in the Republic of Ireland, a 1-1 draw in Switzerland and a 4-0 hammering of Cyprus secured France top spot in a group in which they remained unbeaten. Two draws against Israel and Switzerland and one against Ireland added to their five wins and saw them avoid a potential banana skin in the play-offs.
This is the first time France have qualified for the World Cup in 20 years, as they entered the 1998 tournament as hosts and 2002 as Champions. They failed to reach the finals in 1990 and 1994 and will be desperate to avoid the humiliation they suffered four years ago in which they finished bottom of their group without a goal to their name.
France are an ageing side with Thuram and Zidane at 34 in the finals while Makelele, and goalkeeper Gregory Coupet will be 33 and midfielder Sylvain Wiltord 32. The main problem manager Raymond Domenech has endured is the younger generation of players just don’t look up to the task which has forced him to bring back the tried and trusted stars of yesteryear.
Domenech has also overlooked the creative likes of Robert Pires and Johann Micoud with the a potential midfield, bar Zidane, of Makelele, Wiltord and Patrick Vieria looking very static. Surely Zidane cannot be expected to do it all on his own at this late stage of his career?
Despite the chronic lack of midfield creativity, this year’s finals must see the best of strike pairing Thierry Henry and David Trezeguet who have failed to shine in previous tournaments. In 17 World Cup appearances between them, they have collectively scored just four goals while Djibril Cisse has failed to score in three.
While on paper France still have world class credentials they cannot be backed confidently to succeed in this tournament. At odds-on they provide almost no value to win or even qualify from Group G.
They play perhaps their toughest opponents Switzerland in the opening match and providing they come out of it unscathed they could use it as a springboard to qualify for the last 16.
Recommended Bet
There is no value in backing France to win the group or even qualify from it at heavy odds-on given their struggle for qualification and inept performance four years ago. They face Switzerland in their opening match, a side they drew twice with during the qualification process and another stalemate is the recommended bet here.
France vs Switzerland draw @ 9/4
Word count: 454