France- The Dark Knight of FIFA World Cup
It’s difficult to find a football playing nation as erratic as France. Yes, the France we once knew for a legend like Zinedine Zidane and the France we know today for players like Frank Ribery and Paul Pogba. With an odd of 50.0 available to them to win the tournament outright, it can be figured out which team is going to turn up for the big event. Will it be the 2006 one or the 2010 one? Being the defending champions in FIFA 14 world cup, they had a horrible experience with two humiliating losses in the group stage against Senegal and Denmark. Four years later, they came back with a bang with Zidane coming to his own and playing a major part in the win against Portugal, Brazil and Spain that led them to the finals against Italy that witnessed the historic head butt. Last time around in Africa, they were totally out of the equation as they kicked themselves out in the first stage itself. Now with relative competitive performances in the 2014 qualifiers, things look pretty good to start with. The French fans are quite angry with the sense of involvement exhibited by their team and believe that they are less deserving of the money they acquire. Some fans also chose to cross borders and back Belgium football team to go all the way this summer.
With momentum on their side, France is all set to go in with a positive frame of mind and it would be next to impossible to predict their fate in the tournament. It’s all about the right timing and France seems to coming in form just at the right juncture. Now those blushes could well be gone if Benzema and Ribery are convicted in the alleged case by a prostitute.
Luck also seems to be in favor of France with an easy group to play in. Ecuador is unlikely to stand strong against the likes of Nasri , Ribery and Benzema, while Honduras have had only one win in the last 5 encounters away from home. Switzerland, on the other hand poses a potential threat to France although their side’s attainment is doubtful in spite of the tremendous talent they have. Considering the unpredictability of a team like France, it would be smart to back Switzerland to top the group. Ecuador and Honduras are expected to pack their bags early unless and until there is a big stutter in the group matches.