FIFA World Cup 2022 - Can France Retain Its Title?

After their triumph in Russia in 2018, France will now aim to become just the third team in World Cup history to successfully defend their title.

It's the most prestigious trophy in football. The Golden Goddess has only been won by eight nations in the nearly 100-year history of the tournament and it is the ticket to establishing your nation as a footballing powerhouse. 

France has done it twice. Firstly in 1998, due to some Zinadine Zidane brilliance, and some conspiracy over the fitness of Brazil's star man, Ronaldo, the French were able to secure their first World Cup trophy. 

They then had to wait 20 years for their next glory (2018) as a Mbappe-led side won them their second World Cup trophy. 

Their first attempt at retaining the World Cup (2002) was quite frankly, shocking. France lost their first match of the following World Cup 1-0 against Senegal, before dropping points to Uruguay and then losing to Denmark. 

Finishing rock bottom of their group with only one point, not only was it an appalling World Cup defence, but it was also the premature start to a curse that could come back to bite France once again. 

World Cup 2022 Predictions for France

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The World Cup Winners' Curse

From 1998 to 2018, every single winner bar one would go on to get knocked out in the group stages of the following World Cup. It started, as has been mentioned with France in 2002, only getting one point in the World Cup following their trophy lift in 1998.

The curse was broken in 2006, as Brazil, the winners in 2002, reached the quarter-finals.

Italy, winners in 2006, fell abysmally in 2010, getting only two points, via draws with New Zealand and Paraguay. Funnily enough, France, the runners-up in 2006, also fell at the group stage in 2010. 

Spain's first World Cup win (2010) was followed up by a shocking campaign in Brazil. Losing 5-1 to the Netherlands and getting knockout of the group with one game to spare. 

Then, in 2018, Germany, the runaway winners four years before, got taught a lesson of complacency as Mexico and South Korea swept them aside. The only points amassed by the Germans were via a Toni Kroos screamer in the 95th minute against Sweden in the second group game. 

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This bizarre tradition, inadvertently started by the French, could cause their demise for them in November’s World Cup. While there have been two other teams that have defended their trophy, it's been a very long time since a team has gone back-to-back. 

The first side to do it was Italy in 1934 and 1938. Both tournaments were contested with no group stage. Then there was Brazil in 1958 and 1962, and while there were group stages in both these competitions, there were only four, and it then went straight into the quarter-finals after the conclusion of the groups. 

While the last team to go back-to-back was 60 years ago, it was in a completely different competition. The latest team to come close to joining this elusive club was Brazil again. Having won on penalties in 1994, they came close four years later, before getting soundly defeated by France in the final. 

So, taking all this into account, if France were able to retain the World Cup, it would be one of the biggest achievements in football history. It is almost impossible to retain the World Cup, and if France can achieve it, it would be more than extraordinary. So, let's look at if they can get it done.

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Why France Can Break the Curse

The last major tournament since their triumph in 2018 was last year's European Championship campaign. Many expected them to waltz into the tournament, go very far, potentially even win it, and waltz out hardly breaking a sweat.

Player for player, it's hard disputing that France has probably the best squad in world football. Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Greizman and Karim Benzema make up that front three, with Paul Pogba and N'golo Kante (pictured) making up the double pivot. Then there's the formidable back four that consistently includes Raphael Varane, Theo Hernandez and Jules Konde. 

However, the campaign didn't go how they wanted it to, just edging out Germany in the opening group game, before embarrassingly dropping points to Hungary. They then dropped points against Portugal, just scraping through the group despite finishing top.

They came up against a threatening Switzerland in the round of 16. This was expected to be a walk in the park, however, when Haris Seferovic put the underdogs in front inside 15 minutes, things got tense quickly. 

However, France skipped out to a 3-1 lead thanks to a Benzema brace and some Pogba magic. Despite this, the Swiss were not done, getting one back through Seferovic, before equalising through Mario Gavranovic in the 90th minute. 

The game went all the way to penalties, where the star, Kylian Mbappe, missed the decisive penalty to send France home. 

This was the ultimate story of complacency, which could be shown by the strange change manager Didier Deschamps made. For the group stage games, France played their traditional 4-3-3 system, a formation that was basic enough that can be implemented quickly for international football, but also intricate enough to be able to show off the talent at their disposal. 

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For the game against Switzerland, and nearly all subsequent competitive games, France has deployed a 3-4-1-2. While we have seen big teams play expansive, exciting football using this formation, France played in the opposite manner. 

Having a nearly flat back five with the double pivot of Kante and Pogba sitting very deep, this somewhat cowardly way of playing football was the beginning of the demise for France, as the Swiss were able to pass through them and pick them apart at ease. 

Having returned to the four at the back in recent times, it seems that Deschamps isn't quite sure on his best and more preferred formation, something that could lead to mass uncertainty heading into Qatar. 

France is seen as a footballing powerhouse across the world, with world-class talent on every line and the ability to produce electrifying football at their will. However, it has been seen that they aren't infallible, they do have weaknesses and can be toppled. 

Couple this with the previous record of winners in the world cup, and how hard it is to retain the trophy, and it will take an all-time effort for Les Bleus to go back-to-back.

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(Photo by Alex Gottschalk/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)