France came through the 2022 World Cup group stages mostly unscathed to finish top of Group D before laying down a marker in the knockout stages.
Les Bleus’ build up to Qatar 2022 was dominated by a host of injury withdrawals, with 2018 heroes N’Golo Kante and Paul Pogba both sidelined, alongside 2022 Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema on the eve of the tournament.
However, Didier Deschamps’ charges have shown the resilience needed from defending champions so far, with Kylian Mbappe staking his claim for the Golden Boot.
Major tests lie ahead for France if they want to retain their title from Russia 2018 — and the 1-0 defeat to Tunisia on matchday three will be a concern, albeit they rested a host of regular first-team stars — but they showed their class to beat Poland in the Round of 16 and England in the quarterfinals.
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Semifinals: France vs Morocco
France’s reward for their 2-1 victory over England is a match against surprise packages Morocco.
Unbeaten Morocco were underdogs again before beating Portugal 1-0 in their quarterfinal, becoming the first African side to reach the final four.
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Final: France vs Argentina
The final could see France come up against the ‘other side’ of the knockout stage and clash with South American heavyweights Argentina.
Lionel Messi’s date with destiny will be the narrative with Argentina reaching the final, and the Paris Saint-Germain superstar will have their 4-3 last-16 defeat to France from 2018 fresh in his mind.