France’s potential is tantalizing, but they have much to prove

France enter the World Cup with one of the most talented squads in the tournament, but can they put it all together in Russia?

Didier Deschamps enters his third major tournament in charge of the French national team on thin ice after a quarterfinal exit in Brazil four years ago and a more concerning loss against Portugal in the Euro 2016 final. Deschamps, who is aiming to become only the third person ever to win the World Cup as both a player and manager, has at his disposal one of the most talented squads in the tournament, and yet, well, where to begin?

How about that Euro 2016 final? The loss — on home soil, via a speculative Eder strike following an awful 109 minutes the vast majority of which Cristiano Ronaldo spent on the sidelines with an injury — was heartbreaking, but the tournament as a whole felt like a missed opportunity. Les Bleus, despite their immense talent, seemed never quit to add up to the sum of their parts. Even their 2-0 win against Germany in the semis felt like a slog.

We’re two years removed from that defeat now, and 20 years removed from France’s first and only World Cup triumph in 1998, also on home soil, with Deschamps captaining the side. France won Euro 2000 two years later, but haven’t tasted silverware since. They’re not favorites to lift the trophy (Germany, Spain and Brazil lead the way), but they have as much talent as those that are. It’s been a long time since they had a better chance.

Then again, we’ve heard that before, and recently. Ian Darke put it best: “Very talented but a little erratic must be the verdict. That last bit is a concern in a knock-out tournament where one bad day can doom you.” Doom them it has in their last two tournaments, but while Deschamps is working with a similar core of players, there are obvious areas of improvement throughout the side.

Hugo Lloris remains the starting keeper, but the defense could look very different. Samuel Umtiti started the final in Euro 2016, but he’s two years older and wiser and coming off the best season of his career with Barcelona. His center-back partner, Raphael Varane, who missed Euro 2016 with injury, also has two more valuable years of experience (and two more Champions League titles) with Real Madrid under his belt.

Benjamin Mendy may not be fully fit after missing most of the season with a knee injury, but he still represents an upgrade on the 35-year-old Patrice Evra who started the Euro 2016 final. Djibril Sidibe, who should replace Bacary Sagna on the right side of defense, is one of several players, all of them 25 or younger, who starred for Monaco in 2016-17 and immediately strengthened the national team.

The biggest addition in midfield is N’Golo Kante, who was in the squad in 2016, but didn’t make the starting XI; his presence should free up Paul Pogba, who was limited to a mostly defensive role at the Euros, and Blaise Matuidi. Corentin Tolisso, Steven N’Zonzi and Thomas Lemar, another star of that Monaco team, round out a midfield that looks equally capable, at least on paper, of controlling possession, pressing opponents and shielding the defense.

Perhaps the most significant changes are in attack. Antoine Griezmann is back, and will be in the running for the Golden Boot, while Olivier Giroud should also play a big role. The rest, however, are all new faces. Ousmane Dembele, Nabil Fekir and Florian Thauvin may all start on the bench, as good an indication of any as the talent in this current generation of players (and that’s not even to mention the players Deschamps left at home).

And then there is Kylian Mbappe, the most notable Monaco alum in the side, the most talented teenager in the world and the biggest single difference between the France side that finished second at Euro 2016 and this one. Mbappe is only 19, he’s not yet the star of this team, but after scoring 41 goals over the past two seasons, he seems primed for a breakout tournament. If he excels, France move to another level.

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Again, however, there is that “if.” As talented as France are, there remain serious questions about Deschamps’ ability to put it all together. They look to be in a relatively easy group with three sides — Denmark, Australia, Peru — who qualified via a playoff, but any road to the final will almost certainly run through Germany, Spain or Brazil, equally talented, but also more experienced, and playing in more settled systems.

France are capable of some breathtaking soccer, as they showed in the first half of their friendly against Colombia in March. They’re also maddeningly inconsistent, as they showed in the second half of their friendly against Colombia in March (they lost 3-2). This is a team with arguably the deepest, most exciting pool of attacking talent in the world, and yet they scored only 18 goals in qualifying, fewer than Sweden and the Netherlands, and only two more than Iceland.

It seems unreasonable to expect such a young group of players to suddenly fulfill their promise on the grandest possible stage, especially under a manager who seems intent to rein in their more attacking instincts, but the promise is there, and the promise is tantalizing. And, unlikely though it seems, for a group of players who are almost all likely to feature in future World Cups, the pressure may never be less than it is right now.