2010 World Cup France Team

France literally breezed into the international football scene, walking away with the FIFA World Cup in 1998, demolishing Brazil 3-0 in the finals to lift the cup. France has been one of the most popular teams after the 98 World Cup win, with Zinedine Zidane, Fabien Barthez and Didier Deschamps becoming some of the most popular footballers in the world. Booking a berth at the 2010 FIFA World Cup has also got Les Bleus the distinction of having made it to the World Cup finals for the fourth year in a row. At the 2006 World Cup, despite an unimpressive performance at the World Cup France came to just a step away from winning their second World Cup losing to Italy in a penalty shoot-out. Despite the retirement of the big-guns Zidane, Barthez and Deschamps, France still continues to churn out new and impressive players in the form of Franck Ribery, Karim Benzema, and Yoann Gourcuff.

France’s road to the World Cup just like the 2006 qualifiers was quite unimpressive, nevertheless, they satisfied the demands of their supporters by booking their ticket to South Africa. Les Bleus lost the first match 3-1 to Austria, but drew against group leaders Serbia and won against Faroe Islands and returned a favor winning 3-1 against Austria and finally edged out Ireland with an extra-time goal to secure their place in the World Cup finals.

With all the senior figures retired from international football, Thierry Henry has taken on the captain’s responsibilities, with William Gallas holding the defensive line. Jeremy Toulalan and Lassana Diarra have become a part of the midfield that used to be Zidane’s territory. Franck Ribery, Yoann Gourcuff and Nicolas Anelka will all be available up front to form the attack along with Thierry Henry.

Coach Raymond Domenech took the reins to the national team in 2004, he was criticized for his ineffectiveness due to the lackluster performance by France in the UEFA Euro Cup 2008. He has yet to win a major tournament with Les Bleus, though the team’s qualification for the World Cup is the highlight of his career and proof that France’s performance is headed upwards.

Les Bleus have appeared in 12 FIFA World Cup final tournaments, taking the cup home in 1998. They have also managed two third place finishes in 1958 and 1986.

French Squad/Team For FIFA World Cup 2010

The Pre-World Cup list of players for France is given below.

Player	Position
Hugo Lloris	Goalkeeper
Steve Mandanda	Goalkeeper
Cedric Carrasso	Goalkeeper
William Gallas	Defender
Eric Abidal	Defender
Bakary Sagna	Right back
Patrice Evra	Left back
Gael Clichy	Left back
Marc Planus	Defender
Anthony Reveillere	Right back
Sebastien Squillaci	Centre back
Abou Diaby	Central midfielder
Alou Diarra	Midfielder
Lassana Diarra	Defensive midfielder
Yoann Gourcuff	Midfielder
Florent Malouda	Left winger
Jeremy Toulalan	Defensive midfielder
Nicolas Anelka	Striker / Winger
Djibril Cissé	Striker
Andre-Pierre Gignac	Striker
Sidney Govou	Right Winger, Striker
Thierry Henry	Striker/Winger
Franck Ribery	Winger
Mathieu Valbuena	Midfielder

2010 World Cup France Team