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Les Bleus as the French national team is known will be among the favourites to win the World Cup when it kicks off in Russia in June.
Didier Deschamps and his men were also the favourites when the nation hosted the European Championships in 2016. The team went all the way to the final playing some very uninspiring football & were beaten in extra time in the final by another uninspiring finalist: Portugal.
Deschamps' choice of players was severely criticized by the French press as some of the choices he made in terms of playing personnel for the tourney were baffling, to say the least (Andre Gignac over Kevin Gameiro/Alexandre Lacazette was the most talked about one).
Given the plethora of players available to be chosen from, the manager has vowed to do things differently as he intends to only pick players playing regularly for their clubs and who fit into his plans.
Certain players like Paul Pogba, Samuel Umtiti, Antoine Griezmann among others are almost certain to be at the Mundial.
The same cannot be said about some other players, here is a look at 5 of those who still need to convince Deschamps about their places at Russia 2018:
#5 Kurt Zouma (Chelsea but on loan at Stoke City)
The centre-back has had a mixed season so far and faces an uphill struggle to be among the 23-man list to the World Cup.
While he has shown flashes of form for struggling Stoke City in the Premier League, he has not been consistent enough and has been in and out of the team despite the equally erratic form of fellow centre-backs Bruno Martins Indi, Kevin Wimmer & Ryan Shawcross.
His desire to make the World Cup squad will not be helped by the quality available to the manager, Deschamps in the centre-back position as Umtiti, Raphael Varane & Laurent Koscielny are almost certain to be in the party leaving space for just one more.
Zouma is up against Presnel Kimpembe (PSG), Aymeric Laporte (Manchester City), Benjamin Pavard (Vfb Stuttgart) and on current form, the PSG man seems to have the nod.
The Chelsea loanee will need to play out of his skin and help Stoke avoid relegation if he is to stand any chance of making it to Russia.
#4 Layvin Kurzawa (PSG)
The full-back positions will be a problem for the French as on the right side, AS Monaco's Djibril Sidibe is the only viable option now which has necessitated call-ups for old warhorses OGC Nice's Christophe Jallet (34) & Benevento's Bacary Sagna (35).
The left-back position has younger options and Kurzawa will need to battle to prove himself worthy of a position in the team.
Although the ex-Monaco man has been favoured by Deschamps as he has started in recent Les Bleus matches including the last friendly against Germany in November, his defensive performances have been found wanting.
While he provides a decent attacking outlet, he has been found wanting defensively as he usually has lapses in concentration and at times wanders away from his position even when the team is being attacked.
This has led to his being dropped by PSG 's manager; Unai Emery in favour of Spaniard Yuri Berchiche.
With Manchester City's Benjamin Mendy expected to be fit before the World Cup & Barcelona's Lucas Digne also an option, the 25-year-old will need to regain his position at PSG if he is to displace his competitors for the No. 3 jersey for Les Bleus.
#3 Wissam Ben Yedder (Sevilla)
Ben Yedder's recent heroics at Old Trafford have earned him a first call-up to the France squad. He might return to Sevilla still uncapped, but it's a reward for his good form this term.
It is actually startling to realize that the 27-year-old is about to earn his first cap. This has been due to the quality ahead of him as well as Deschamps' strange aversion to bedding in new strikers.
The former Toulouse striker is not the most prolific of goalscorers but his movement and ability to bring midfielders into play would be beneficial to a French team that has a lot of roving forwards: Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele et al.
Ben Yedder will need to improve his goal tally and performances for Sevilla if he is to make the party to Russia.
He is up against the favoured Olivier Giroud (Chelsea) as well as Alexandre Lacazette (Arsenal) & Kevin Gameiro (Atletico Madrid) for the central striker role and given the abundance of wingers & inside forwards, it is doubtful if Deschamps would go with more than two out-&-out strikers.
#2 Tiémoué Bakayoko (Chelsea)
Tipped as the new Patrick Vieira following his superlative performances for AS Monaco last season, he was widely tipped to go on to better things following his move to Chelsea at the beginning of the season.
Through a combination of injuries, nerves and a lack of understanding of what manager Antonio Conte expects of him, he has had a rather forgettable debut season in English football and his participation at the World Cup is in serious doubt.
Standing in his way in the national team is Juventus's Blaise Matuidi as well as other players like Adrien Rabiot (PSG) & Corentin Tolisso (Bayern Munich). These three players are the ones expected to fulfil the box-to-box role for manager Deschamps at the World Cup and are playing regularly for their clubs.
Bakayoko will need to play a starring role in Chelsea's late surge for a UEFA Champions League spot as well as prove pivotal in the Blues' FA Cup run if he is to make the party to Russia 2018.
#1 Anthony Martial (Manchester United)
It is safe to say that the world is still waiting to see the full-on explosion of the talented Martial as there remains a feeling that the talented winger cum-striker still has a lot to show.
The youngster started the season like a house of fire for the Red Devils and many believed that this would be the season in which the 22-year-old finally announces himself in the style expected of him.
A tally of 12 goals and 5 assists in 40 appearances this season seems like a decent record but he has performed in fits and starts and is said to have exasperated Jose Mourinho with his lackadaisical attitude.
The youngster has never been central to Deschamps' plans and in Mbappe (PSG), Dembele (Barca), Kingsley Coman (Bayern Munich), Thomas Lemar (AS Monaco), Dimitri Payet & Florian Thauvin (Olympique Marseille), he has a rather scary contingent of talented players to fight off for a place in France's squad.
Mbappe & Payet are almost guaranteed to be on the list while Deschamps favours Lemar & Coman for their crossing abilities and ability to stretch play as they are natural wingers.
This leaves Martial competing against Dembele & Thauvin for a spot and given the performances of both players this season, the ex-Monaco man will find it difficult to displace either of them.
