France reached a consecutive FIFA World Cup final in Qatar despite the huge injury crisis that came their way prior to beginning the defence of their trophy. Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema, World Cup-winning midfield duo Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante as well as Paris Saint-Germain’s Presnel Kimpembe were ruled out of the tournament amongst many more.
Despite having their squad severely weakened, France had the depth to call up quality players in their place, and have perhaps shown that system and structure reign above the quality of personnel in tournament football.
