1998 World Cup winner in no doubt France are favourites for this year's tournament

Tonight sees the turn of France, who get their World Cup bid underway in one of the most intriguing group stage matches when they take on Senegal.

It will stir up memories of the opening game of the 2002 finals, when the same sides met, and the Africans handed the then-reigning world champions one of the biggest upsets in tournament history.

Two decades on, it's now a Senegal side heavily fancied to be dark horses in North America against a French team, who are favourites to win the whole competition. 

Didier Deschamps has an embarrassment of riches throughout his squad - especially in attack - and the aim is simple: make it three World Cup finals in a row and end his reign in charge by becoming champions for a third time. 

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"There is no doubt," Marcel Desailly believes when asked about the country he won gold with in 1998. 

"There is no other team up to the level of France on pure quality," he told DAZN News, thanks to MrRaffle.com 

"When you look at it, I think he took eight strikers, and the midfielders are just amazing. Spain might be better on the field collectively—they beat us in the semi-final of the Euros quite easily—they might still be better in that sense.

"But collectively, if Didier Deschamps manages to set up a real tactical understanding for this team the same way he did in 2018 when they won it... nobody expected it then, but he was smart. He put N'Golo Kanté with Paul Pogba as two defensive midfielders, and he put Blaise Matuidi on the left. Bingo. The team had the spirit and something clicked.

"It is the same for this current team. The way he sets his team up with the kind of talent he has will likely take them to the final rounds."

The only concern with the French side is how Deschamps can manage his options to find the right blend that will see his side triumph once again. 

Fitting the likes of Michael Olise, Bradley Barcola, Desire Doué, Ousmane Dembélé and Kylian Mbappe into a happy team is no easy task, but the former defender believes we'll see the best of skipper Mbappe because of the quality he has around him for his country. 

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Adding, "People talk about Kylian Mbappé at Real Madrid and how that partnership hasn't quite worked yet. He has amazing statistics, by the way—42 goals last season, so how can we continue to criticise him? But the overall chemistry there wasn't perfect because the drop-off in level for the other players was too steep.

"With the French national team, however, you have Ousmane Dembélé—a Ballon d'Or-level player—who is ready to play out on the right side as a true winger like he used to, which allows space for Mbappé, the captain of the French national team, to express himself.

"So there's a real understanding and synergy in the French team that could really show the world again that they are one of the best." 

After Senegal, France take on Iraq before an anticipated clash with Norway, in what could be crucial in deciding the fate of which route each side takes into the knockout rounds. 
 

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