Forget the loss to Tunisia because that was not a match they took seriously but one saw as an avenue to rest players with knockout rounds ticket already sealed, so this article is much more about the happenings before their final group game.
Ten FIFA World Cup games now, the 23year old Kylian Mbappé has an astonishing seven goals and one assist to his name and is already a world champion, not forgetting he was named the young best player of the last edition in Russia.
Then, only a 19 year old teenager, now, Mbappé has developed into one of the best players in the world and to complement his talent, prowess, hunger and ambition, France have been blessed with a group of young and promising players, ready to fill the shoes of their enervated ones.
Due to their poor form before the kickoff of the World Cup, there were question marks over their ability to retain the title they won over four years ago in Russia as their UEFA Nations League campaign ended with a disappointing group stage elimination, with just one win in six games.
To worsen matters, the duo of Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kanté, whom alongside the internationally retired Blaise Matuidi marshalled the their Midfield and led them to glory in Russia, were injured and ruled out of this year’s edition.
Potentially, France had to rely on a new combination after years of success with the duo of Pogba and Kanté, and the inexperience of the younger players at this level was a worry, heading into Qatar, with the likes of Argentina, Brazil and other European nations well ahead the defending Champions in the order of favourites.
The burden of being the defending Champions and the expectations that comes off it for this young group, and of course not forgetting the curse that had befallen the defending Champions of the previous three editions, which had seen Italy, Spain and Germany all suffered group elimination in 2010, 2014 and 2018 respectively.
Karim Benzema, Christopher Nkunku, Mike Maignan were all ruled out, joining Pogba and Kanté on the sidelines, making fans wary if indeed the curse is real and disaster awaits them in Qatar.
All the negative thoughts looked like coming to be after Craig Godwin fired Australia ahead, just nine minutes into their opening game of the tournament, with Lucas Hernandez getting injured and substituted in the process.
Playing against the least ranked nation in the group, it was surely not the start Didier Deschamps and his minions anticipated and for the 18 minutes or so that they were down to Australia, at some point, the thought of group elimination would have crossed the mind of some or all of the players, knowing the context heading into the match.
However, after the full-time whistle in the final kickoff of Tuesday, 22nd, it was clear that France will not fall victim of the curse that had haunted their predecessors as they had replied the Aussies with four goals of their own.
Victory inspired by Kylian Mbappé and his resilient teeammates, with Olivier Giroud netting a brace, taking him level on all-time most goals scored for the France National Team, (51 set by Thierry Henry).
Andrien Rabiot, who has been sensational for Juventus this season is now, also seizing his chance to impress, having agonizingly missed out on the final squad that won gold in Russia 2018.
Aurélien Tchouameni, continuing his blistering start to life at Real Madrid with the National team in Qatar, a midfield duo of himself and Rabiot has thus far been good for France, even dominating against Denmark, a team that has proven to be tough nut to crack in recent times.
The form of Ousmane Dembele at club level has also seen him retain a starting spot for France in Qatar, which is good news for the country as it means they have quality to introduce from the bench, if the manager wants to tweak things in attack.
France’s Mr Consistency, Antoine Griezmann is also in a good form having finally put behind his Barcelona nightmare. Prior to the World Cup, he has started the domestic season well for Atletico, registering eight goal contributions in seven league starts.
Olivier Giroud is also in fine form with Milan and the injury to Karim Benzema, who really hasn’t been at his best this season due to battles with injuries, has not really impacted their plans.
But overall, the form and consistency Kylian Mbappé has maintained since his breakthrough at Monaco, which helped France clinch the FIFA World Cup title in 2018 and the UEFA Nations League one year ago, has been the real secret behind their success.
Not many gave France a chance at the start but after two games, they are the top favourites for many to retain the crown. Should France still be here after two games into the next round, then they will surely be fancied by many more to go all the way.
The current generation is rapidly overtaking the standard set by France’s golden generation between 1998 and 2006 and are looking more dangerous than they were when they conquered the world over four years ago in Russia.
The UEFA European Championship has so far evaded them albeit they reached the final in 2016. There is time for this growing side to achieve more under the proper guidance.
A run of six consecutive wins in FIFA World Cup games, the most in their history and the most in FIFA World Cup since Spain in 2010, was ended in that defeat to Tunisia, however, the sky seems to be the limit as to what this team can achieve with Kylian Mbappé on their side.
At 23, he already has more than Thierry Henry’s six FIFA World Cup goals. He has scored 31 international goals, 20 away from equaling the all-time most for the country and his career still ahead of him, name the record and Mbappé will be there already in the coming years.
Surely he will be eyeing the Ballon d’or at some point in his career and another World Cup success with France, which is not farfetched will technically put him in pole position to claim the prize come next October.
Much of the chances of success for this generation of France’s will be down to Kylian Mbappé, who has so far stand up to the challenge and they will need him to continue for as long as they need him to, mostly when they take on Poland later today, for a place in the last eight of the FIFA World Cup.
Author: Kehinde Hassan Afolabi
