France aim to cap off a perfect Qatar World Cup group stage with a win over Tunisia on Wednesday. Last Word on Football predicts the French lineup for their Group D clash against Tunisia.
France Predicted Lineup vs Tunisia
How France Have Lined-up Recently
France have been able to finally break the ‘defending champions curse’ at the World Cup by qualifying for the knockout rounds, breaking a trend of the defending champions being eliminated in the group stages for the last three editions. Didier Deschamps did so with an injury-struck squad and encouraging direct, attacking football over anything else.
He was, of course, also helped by the abundance of talent in the France side. Kylian Mbappe has almost been a one-man wrecking machine for his side, having scored three goals and provided an assist in two games. He played a huge role in helping his side get the big win over Denmark, which ensured his side a place in the Round of 16. Moreover, he’s been helped by France’s no.9 Olivier Giroud as well as other attacking outlets like Ousmane Dembele and Antoine Griezmann.
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Despite lining up with their strongest options in the first two World Cup games, France are likely to change things up against Tunisia. With qualification secured, Deschamps is likely to rest some key players and give options to other members of the squad.
France Recent Form and Tactics
France headed into the World Cup in really shaky form, having only won three out of their eight games in 2022 before the major competition. That is why many questioned if they might also be struck by the ‘defending champions curse’, something which Les Bleues rubbished spectacularly. They’ve maintained a 100% win rate at the World Cup so far, having won both their games and scoring six goals in the first two matches.
Deschamps has stuck with his patent 4-2-3-1 formation that has served him so well during his stint in charge of the French national side. That includes playing two really pacy and incisive wingers (Dembele and Mbappe) who can move into the central areas – allowing the wing-backs to stretch the backline with their overlapping runs through the wide areas.
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Olivier Giroud has been acting as a shield forward, often dropping deep to drag defenders out of position and helping with the link-up progressive play. In midfield, Aurelien Tchouameni has acted as the commanding man – helping protect his side’s backline and also bringing aggression to the midfield. Adrien Rabiot has played a more advanced role to add an extra body in the box.
With that being said, Deschamps is likely to bench a number of his ‘regulars’ against Tunisia. Expect to see the players normally on the bench to be starting this one. France’s explosive left-back Theo Hernandez, for one, might be rested and Eduardo Camavinga could be played in his place. Mbappe, however, is expected to play as he guns for the Golden Boot award.
France Injuries to Consider
The France national team have suffered some major injury blows in the last few weeks. Before their World Cup campaign began, they realized that prolific forward Karim Benzema would not be able to feature in the competition as he failed to recover from an injury suffered earlier in the season with Real Madrid. Not only is Benzema expected to miss the entire campaign, but Les Bleues will also be without left-back Lucas Hernandez – who suffered a nasty injury against Australia. France are already without key midfielders Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante in the competition.
France Predicted XI
Hugo Lloris, Jules Kounde, Ibrahima Konate, Raphael Varane, Eduardo Camavinga, Seko Fofana, Adrien Rabiot, Kingsley Coman, Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe, Olivier Giroud
