As well as dealing with injuries to key players, France have loads of World Cup history in Qatar. Good luck, Les Blues.
Brazil has not come close to retaining the title as defending champions since losing to France in the 1998 final.
Of the next five World Cup defending champions, four failed to reach the knockout stage and three finished last in their group.
As World Cup champions in 1998, many favored France to win again in 2002, especially with a front line of top scorers from the three major European leagues. France combine Arsenal striker Thierry Henry, Juventus marksman David Trezeguet and rising talent Djibril Cisse in a formidable attack combining pace, skill and power. But the French flopped and with an injured Zinedine Zidane unable to perform properly in midfield, were eliminated from the group stage without winning a game.
It was one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history, and the warning signs are eerily similar this time around.
Defending champions France have arguably the best attack in the world, with Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema alongside 2018 World Cup star Kylian Mbappe, with Antoine Griezmann or Olivier Giroud supporting them.
Speed, skill and power.
But, as in 2002, France have problems in midfield, with injuries to both World Cup winner Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante, depriving coach Didier Deschamps of his engine room. Central defender Raphael Varane, another key player from four years ago, is trying to recover from a hamstring injury.
Here’s a look at where France went wrong in 2002, Brazil four years later in 2006, Italy in 2010, Spain in 2014 and Germany in 2018.
France in 2002
What could go wrong for a France team with Zidane behind Henry, Trezeguet and Cisse in a group featuring Senegal, Uruguay and Denmark?
The first mistake coach Roger Lemaire made was selecting Zidane in the warm-up against South Korea five days before the tournament. He limped out due to a thigh injury, which saw him ruled out of the first two group games and was sent back for the last match.
France, however, still had the core of its winning team from 1998. Yuri Zhorkayev was in midfield alongside Patrick Vieira, who had recently won the Premier League and FA Cup double with Arsenal teammate Henry. There was also Emmanuel Petit, who scored in the 3–0 win over Brazil in the final.
But in the opening match of 2002, Papa Bouba Diop scored the only goal for Senegal, sealing a 1–0 victory over the defending champions.
France’s hopes of a comeback suffered a setback when Henry was sent off after 25 minutes for a reckless challenge in a 0–0 draw against Uruguay.
This required France to beat Denmark by two goals. Tied up Zidane did what he could but France lost 2–0 and went home in embarrassment.
Brazil in 2006
Brazil boasted a star-studded squad, with Ronaldinho the preeminent talent; the flamboyance of Ronaldo and Adriano; Cafu’s marauding run, and Juninho’s swerving long-range free kick. Ronaldinho even had a personalized headband with his initials “R” written in gold.
It looked like Brazil might be a little overconfident in the quarterfinals, against a France team that features a rejuvenated Zidane.
And that’s how it turned out.
Zidane produced one of the most dazzling midfield displays in World Cup history. His incredible skill, ballistic balance and pirouetting moves stunned Brazil, and his free kick set Henry up for a volley – the only goal of the match.
Italy in 2010
Like France in 2002, Italy finished bottom of their group.
At least the Italians scored – four times – but the group looked a bit easier: Paraguay, New Zealand and Slovakia.
Italy made a poor start and needed an equalizer from midfielder Daniele De Rossi to secure a draw against Paraguay. Worse yet for the four-time champions: a 1-1 draw with New Zealand, which took an early lead through unheralded forward Shane Smeltz. In the final group game, Italy trailed 2–0 against Slovakia before losing 3–2.
Unlike in 2006, Italy coach Marcello Lippi could not strike the right balance. Even with Fabio Cannavaro and Giorgio Chiellini in central defence, his team conceded too easily, and there was a problem up front. Vincenzo Iaquinta, Antonio Di Natale and Fabio Quagliarella scored but first-choice striker Alberto Gilardino failed to score.
Gilardino was in good form with AC Milan that season and was known for a peculiar goal celebration, getting down on his knees to play the violin.
This time, Gilardino had nothing to celebrate.
Spain in 2014
It was quite a rude awakening for Spain coach Vicente del Bosque after winning one major trophy after another.
European champions Spain lost their opening game 5-1 to the Netherlands despite a tough central defensive pairing of Sergio Ramos and Gerard Pique and a slick midfield including Barcelona greats Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta.
In the next game, Spain could not stop conceding and lost 2–0 to Chile with both goals coming in the first half.
A 3-0 win over Australia was little consolation for a star-studded Spain team whose slide was emblematic of how two golden eras were coming to an end. Barcelona’s glory years, centered on the passing of Xavi and Iniesta, coincided with Spain’s successes at Euro 2008, the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012.
Germany in 2018
So much for ruthless Germany, the attacking machine that thrashed Brazil in the semi-finals with seven goals at the last World Cup en route to a fourth title.
From the start, Germany struggled in Russia, losing a poor game 1–0 to Mexico and then needing a goal from midfielder Toni Kroos in the fifth minute of injury time to beat Sweden.
That should have been enough of a wake-up call.
Germany needed to beat South Korea to advance, but instead scored two goals in stoppage time after missing several chances to score.
A familiar feeling for that star-studded France team of 20 years ago met with disbelief back home.
