Why France will triumph

13 April 2012

Lesson one for this year's World Cup is that almost every team is better than in 1998. England, Argentina and, this may surprise you given their struggle to qualify, even Brazil have made significant steps forward over the last four years. However, France have also improved and I am convinced they can win the competition again.

They definitely have the players to succeed. While winning the World Cup at home in 1998 was a great achievement, retaining the trophy would be even more impressive. The team I played in the Eighties was good but not as good as this one who have four or five players of the highest quality. You don't get any better than Zinedine Zidane, Marcel Desailly, Thierry Henry and Lilian Thuram.

Ability extends throughout the squad. I mean, who would you pick at full-back? Vincent Candela? Or Bixente Lizarazu? Maybe Thuram? All over the pitch the coach Roger Lemerre has incredible flexibility. The bulk of the team who won the World Cup in 1998 are still there although, if anything, the new players have made the squad stronger.

Of course the loss of Robert Pires with a knee injury will be keenly felt and how France handle his absence will be important. It is vital they find someone with Pires's speed and I believe this could come from Henry. He is phenomenal, a big player who will always be a threat on the counter-attack. He can take advantage of any space and, put him in the same team as Zidane, who can pass the ball, run with it and score goals, and you have a great force.

Inside, David Trezeguet is a remarkable goalscorer who never seems to miss the target, Sylvain Wiltord can also be used in attack, and watch out for Djibril Cisse - only young but a great talent.

And then there is Patrick Vieira. Everyone in England knows what to expect from a player who is one of the best in the world in his position. Vieira and Emmanuel Petit are a great combination behind Zidane.

Crucially, France have players who are experienced at this level, who are used to big fights. Very few of their players are with French clubs - the opposite of when I was in the team. I played for Juventus but I think everyone else was with a French club. Now it is so different and I think it will give France an advantage.

Almost all their current crop of players compete for the big teams in Italy, Spain and England and have great experience of huge matches every week in their own leagues and in European competition. With that experience has come the emergence of a genuine will-to-win.

This team do not know when they are beaten. Look back to Euro 2000 and some may say they were fortunate to win that championship. In the final they were losing against Italy with only a minute to go but they never gave up. They equalised and went on to win. You have to admire that. France have become what I would call 'a big team'.

And we weren't lucky to win the World Cup in 1998 either - we deserved it. We won it, how can I put it, properly. We didn't have a biased referee who gave everything for us or anything like that.

In the tournament we had three red cards - Zidane, Desailly and Laurent Blanc - and still went on to triumph. That speaks for itself.

To win in Japan and South Korea will need great character. And luck. For me, the World Cup is about the 10 days after the group stage. You can lose in the group and get another chance, but when you reach the last 16, quarter and semi-finals, you need the run of the ball. One of the problems for players in Europe is the length of their domestic seasons. Preparation time is short and it is essential the players are in good condition. It is often the case, however, that the successful teams are those that start slowly and keep improving.

England's problem is that their players may not be sufficiently rested and they are in the hardest group. Nigeria, Sweden and Argentina will ensure there will be no easy games and England will have to be at their best and most determined from the start.

The same is true of the other teams in the group and the two that go through could pay the price later on. No one can afford to start slowly and that could affect how far they go. Despite this, I still believe England can pose a threat.

Of the rest, Brazil are always dangerous - especially if their fitness is good - and they manage to find a goalkeeper! Germany will always compete and Cameroon are champions of Africa with many players in top European teams. That will make it hard for the Republic of Ireland.

My two surprise teams are Italy and Portugal.

Italy have goalscoring potential with players like Francesco Totti and Alessandro Del Piero. Portugal have great quality with men of the calibre of Luis Figo, Rui Costa and Fernando Couto.

Stars like Figo will have the extra incentive that this could be their last World Cup.

The Charlie Whelan column

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Why France will triumph

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