No men's world champions have successfully defended their title since Brazil kept the crown in Chile 60 years ago. The feat has been accomplished only twice in the 92-year history of the World Cup, although the possibility of a curse upon the holders is the least of Didier Deschamps' concerns ahead of France's pursuit of the hat-trick.
Deschamps seemed worry-free before today's opener against Australia, in fairness, as he posed with a host of star-struck journalists who embarrassingly asked for selfies at his pre-match press conference. As for that so-called curse: "This is based on statistics, probabilities and facts," the France head coach said, validating a theory he was attempting to dismiss. "We have our objective. Everything that came before is on the sideline now. We will be ready."
The pertinent facts relating to France's title defence are thus: injuries have deprived them of Paul Pogba and N'Golo Kanté, the two central midfielders who started their final victory over Croatia four years ago, the central defender Presnel Kimpembe, another World Cup winner in Russia, the back-up goalkeeper Mike Maignan, the Bundesliga's leading goalscorer Christopher Nkunku and, as of Saturday, the 2022 Ballon d'Or winner Karim Benzema.
This story is from the November 22, 2022 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the November 22, 2022 edition of The Guardian.
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