Russia 2018: The best player on every team at the World Cup

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - JULY 13: Mario Goetze of Germany celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Final match between Germany and Argentina at Maracana on July 13, 2014 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images) /

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PARIS, FRANCE – MARCH 23: Antoine Griezmann of France during the International Friendly match between France and Colombia at Stade de France on March 23, 2018 in Paris, France. (Photo by Matthew Ashton – AMA/Getty Images) /

France: Antoine Griezmann

The French are in quite a strange position heading into Russia. On one hand, they possess an embarrassing abundance of talented youngsters and will likely boast the deepest squad this summer. On the other hand, lapses in concentration have cost them. A loss against Sweden and draws against Belarus and Luxembourg marred their qualifying campaign.

Les Bleus have never won an international title away from home and have won just two of their last 12 World Cup group stage games. Given their group, such form might not be too much of an issue. However, with so many sides in with a realistic chance of winning the World Cup this year, France will need to take their game up a gear if they want to secure just their second world crown.

Fortunately, in Antoine Griezmann, France have a player capable of winning games by himself. Until the arrival of Diego Costa this winter, Griezmann shouldered much of the offensive burden for Atletico Madrid. However, since the arrival of the Spaniard, Griezmann has entered another gear. He showed glimpses of this ability for France in the last Euros, where he scored six goals. If Didier Deschamps wants his team to go far in Russia, he’d do well to build a side around Griezmann.

Honorable mentions: Kyilan Mbappe, Raphael Varane, Samuel Umtiti.

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