Will Didier Deschamps' France Successfully Defend Their World Cup Title in Qatar?

A series of injuries, thanks to a jam-packed season this year, has resulted in a severe loss of cohesion in the midfield and attack line-up of the reigning world champions. English bookies are still placing them as the third most favourite to win the title, after Brazil and Argentina. But will they?

For France to successfully defend their World Cup title, they will need to do something that none of the European teams had done so far in the 21st century - to avoid being relegated from the group stage after winning the title four years ago.

The trend was started by none but France when they were crowned as World Cup champions for the first time in 1998, but they suffered a humiliating first-round exit in the 2002 World Cup. Since then, Italy (Champions 2006), Spain (Champions 2010), and Germany (Champions 2014) have suffered a similar fate.

Can Didier Deschamps buck the trend this time and mastermind one last hurrah before the team undergoes an awaited transition? They have a deep reservoir of the talent pool, their players feature for elite teams in elite leagues, and are accustomed to soaking up the pressure of high-octane games. Beating Australia and Tunisia should be a cakewalk for them. The only real bump in the group stage seems to be Denmark.

But the same could have been said for this year's UEFA Nations League, where they were pooled alongside Croatia, Austria, and Denmark. Theoretically, France should have qualified without much hassle, but they ended the tournament with three defeats, two draws, and just one win. The underwhelming campaign laid bare the vulnerabilities of this French team, leaving Deschamps with more questions than answers.