A long time has passed before the French national team enters a World Cup as a prime candidate to win it all. The team has managed to gather a squad with plenty of balance, quality, depth and explosiveness in the attack, led by Antoine Griezmann and a manager in Didier Deschamps who understands the group to perfection.
Its downfall, however, is its inconsistency and lapses in concentration. Les Bleus lost the 2006 World Cup final against Italy in penalty kicks, succumbed to Germany in the 2014 World Cup quarterfinals and could not live up to the billing of favorites in the Euro 2016 final at home against Portugal.
Deschamps took the reins six years ago, having plenty of time to find the ideal balance in his squad. France is the clear favorite to lead the group.
Peru returns to a World Cup for the first time in 36 years, after defeating New Zealand in their qualifying playoffs, unleashing the euphoria of its supporters. Led by Argentinian manager Ricardo Gareca, the Peruvian regained its possession-based style and short passing, as well as instilling discipline.
The ban handed to their leading scorer, Paolo Guerrero, has been a tough setback for the Inca’s World Cup return.
Since 2017, Peru carries a 12-game unbeaten streak, the best in team history, including commanding victories over fellow World Cup participants Croatia (2-0) and Iceland (1-0) in March friendlies.
This will be Gareca’s first World Cup as manager. Despite only managing Peru since 2015, he carries more than two decades of experience coaching South American teams. Peru will have a tough fight with Denmark to accompany France to the Round of 16.
Denmark is one of the teams with the most potential in Europe. The Danish have not participated in a major tournament since Euro 2012, but hold an 11-game undefeated run after losing to Poland and Montenegro in October 2016. Two of those victories were memorable ones: a 4-0 win over Poland in September and a 5-1 win at Ireland in the second leg of their European playoff.
Denmark’s major trump card is Christian Eriksen. With its prowess to command the midfield, Eriksen looks in great form heading to Russia, which makes anything possible to the Danish. The Tottenham midfielder is one of the most noted players in the Premier League, aside from scoring 11 goals in the qualifiers.
Australia enters its fourth consecutive World Cup, but they traversed a longer-than-expected road after not obtaining a direct berth in the Asian qualifiers, finishing behind Saudi Arabia on goal difference. In total, the Australian played 22 games in qualifying, including playoff ties against Syria and Honduras.
The nucleus of the team that participated in Brazil 2014 remains, the same that won the country’s first Asian Cup title in 2015 with more of an attacking approach. Former manager Ange Postecoglou resigned a week after qualifying and his replacement, Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk, did not arrive until January after leading Saudi Arabia to its own World Cup berth before resigning himself.
Van Marwijk accepted the position by declaring his mission to be for Australia to survive the group stage. The veteran coach led the Netherlands to the final in 2010.
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