Football: 2010 World Cup Team Profile - France

FRANCE

FIFA Ranking: 7



Group: A, with South Africa, Uruguay, and Mexico.

Qualification Route: In Europe's Group 7, France looked unconvincing and finished second behind Serbia. Their poor results included twice barely squeezing past Lithuania 1-0, and only managing to beat the Faroe Islands 1-0 away. In the controversial play-off series against Ireland, France won only after a blatant hand-ball by Thierry Henry set up the winning goal.

Coach: Raymond Domenech. No many people actually believe that Domenech is doing a good job as coach of France. The team's unlikely run to the Final of the 2006 World Cup gave Domenech an unexpected boost and unfortunate longevity. The team's miserable performance at the 2008 European Championship (one draw, two losses, one goal scored), and the terrible performances in qualifying for the 2010 World Cup suggest that if France do well in South Africa, it will be in spite of the coach, not because of him.

Recent World Cup History: France won the World Cup on home soil in 1998. In 2002, they had the worst performance ever by any defending World Cup champions, failing to score a goal. In 2006, Zinedine Zidane unexpectedly pulled out one more great tournament and carried the veteran team to the Final, where they fell to Italy on penalty kicks.

Key Player: Franck Ribery (right) needs to fill the creative void left by Zidane in midfield. Ribery has to progress to consistent world-class status if France are to have a good World Cup.

Goal Scorers: Barcelona's Thierry Henry and Chelsea's Nicolas Anelka can both be lethal in front of the net if the spirit moves them to perform. Andre-Pierre Gignac of Toulouse is supposed to be the next great French striker -- he has a chance to prove it in South Africa.

Prospects: 2010 promises to look a lot more like 2002 and a lot less like 2006 for the French. A First Round exit is not out of the question, although they may scramble into Round 2 thanks to a weak group.


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