France, world champions, is terrified of curses

France it scares, but it also has its own fears.

It is nothing new that much of the planet fears, and it is logical that it is so, the world champion team. The strength of its recent past and the confirmation of its present are irresistible. It could be said that most of the planet and most of the defenses of the remaining 31 teams are scared at the thought of being able to face kylian mbappe Y Karim Benzema. And to them we must add Antoine Griezmann and a number of players who stand out in the big leagues plus the plus of a squad that offers at least two established players per position.

That’s the feeling Didier Deschamps’ team is the big candidate in QatarBut even the powerful have their fears, and France’s fears are rooted in non-rational situations.

Many of the world champion’s fears are rooted in supernatural reasons. Mighty France is terrified of curses.

The first is very simple and is based on recent history. Four of the last five world champions have failed to progress beyond the first round of the next cup. The exception is Brazil, which after winning in 2002 achieved at least sixth place in 2006. The Brazilians are also the last two-time champions, but they did so 60 years ago, having chained Sweden 58 with Chile 62.

There are no modern double champions.

After that team of Pelé and Garrincha, among other cracks, no one could repeat himself. The closest were Brazil itself, champions in the United States 94 and runners-up in France 98, and Argentina, who went from glory in Mexico 86 to runners-up in Italy 90.

Returning to France, many recall that after a brilliant home crown in 1998 and subsequent consolidation at Euro 2000, the team stumbled violently in Group A of the 2002 World Cup, between Korea and Japan. With the same base, they lost 1-0 with Senegal in their debut, drew 0-0 against Uruguay and lost 2-0 against Denmark. He was fourth and out, and scored no goals.

It is the worst successive campaign of a world champion. She finished 28th out of 32 selections. Zinedine Zidane only started in game three.

There another ghost appears, but with a body and dressed in red: Denmark will also be rivals in Qatar, on Saturday 26 November, to close group D. It should be remembered that Argentina’s foe would come out of there in the round of 16.

The Danes have also defeated the French in their last two UEFA Nations League ties: 2-1 in Paris last June and 2-0 in Copenhagen in September. A football alert appears: Didier Deschamps’ team finished third in Group A, behind Croatia and Denmark, having won just one game in six. But that’s another matter.

Following the trend of world champions, Italy too suffered from the curse, from 2006 to 2010. Crowned in Germany, they failed to win or pass the first round in South Africa. They drew 1-1 with Paraguay and New Zealand, lost 3-2 to Slovakia. His final position was 26th.

A similar fate befell Spain, who won their first title in 2010 and lost their three matches in Brazil: 5-1 with the Netherlands, 2-0 against Jorge Sampaoli’s Chile and 3-0 against the ‘Australia. All this despite having Iniesta, Xavi, Sergio Ramos and several other world champions in the team. He finished 23rd at the final table.

In 2014 Germany won the final against Argentina 1-0, but four years later they could not avoid the curse. In the previous match he had won ten games, with 43 goals scored and just four conceded. He was, as almost always, a candidate. He started with a 1-0 loss to Mexico in Moscow. They then beat Sweden 2-1 in Sochi to finish Group F in fourth place after losing 2-0 to South Korea, one of the most humiliating defeats in their history, in Kazan. In the standings it is in 22nd place.

There is also a less superstitious curse that threatens all teams and it is that of the injuries. France have already lost several world champions: Paul Pogba and NGolo Kanté, starting midfielders and figures in 2018, were excluded from the list, as were Presnel Kimpembe and Christopher Nkunku. Raphael Varane came scraping and also Benzema, who has not played for Real Madrid, was a doubt.

As for the brilliant Karim, stat lovers hurt another possible spell. The one that states that no winner of the Ballon d’Or, an award given by France Football, has been world champion the year after winning the award.

The illustrious Alfredo Di Stéfano, Marco Van Basten, Roberto Baggio, Michel Platini, Ronaldo Nazario, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi himself did not escape this alleged enchantment.

That’s why the most superstitious French fans prayed that Benzema didn’t win the last Ballon d’Or. Follies of magical thinking.

Hexes, like discs, are still there to be broken. Perhaps the ideal exorcist is Didier Deschampsworld champion as a player and as a coach, with ten years at the helm of Les Bleus and a winner like few others in the history of the World Cup.

For now, he doesn’t seem so determined to finish the 4-2-3-1 that gave him such good results in Russia 2018 to switch to the 3-4-3 that served him well in the European Qualifiers (five wins, three draws, zero defeats ), but failed to avoid stumbling in the UEFA Nations League.

With three or four defenders, we will see if Deschamps, Mbappé and Benzema can overcome so many world spells.

With so many supernatural threats and so much black magic going around, one of the questions that remains stinging is how curse lovers will interpret the fact that on December 19, one day after the Qatar final, the great Karim Benzema will turn 35.

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