The Curse Of The World Champions: Can Fractious France Buck The Startling Trend?

Only once in 24 years have defending champs made it past the group stage
16:00, 17 Nov 2022

We’re not saying the chaos of the 2010 World Cup tilt is going to be repeated, but France’s preparations for the 2022 tournament bear all the hallmarks of a team ready to implode on the grandest of stages.

Injured midfielder Paul Pogba has been at the centre of a fraternal extortion scandal in recent months, while Kylian Mbappe led a boycott of a national team photoshoot in a spat over image rights and the French Football Federation (FFF) president Noel Le Graet was accused of inappropriate behaviour towards female co-workers. 

Add in a raft of injuries, including to Pogba, N’Golo Kante, Christopher Nkunku and Presnel Kimpembe, and there is plenty of reason to believe that Les Bleus could be the latest team to fall foul of the World Cup’s champions curse.

GROUP D BETTING: France 2/5, Denmark 5/2, Australia 14/1, Tunisia 20/1

Since France themselves were humiliated in Group A in 2002, exiting the competition without scoring a single goal four years on from their 1998 triumph, there has become a trend of reigning champions suffering early exits.

Here’s the full extent of this startling 21st Century phenomenon… 

2002 – FRANCE (1998 champions) – group exit

Les Bleus were stunned in the opening game of the tournament by debutants Senegal, with Papa Bouba Diop’s goal proving enough for the Lions of Teranga. Thierry Henry was then sent off for a studs-up challenge on Marcelo Romero as France stumbled to a 0-0 draw with Uruguay in their second match, and by the time they were comprehensively beaten 2-0 by Denmark they were truly a shadow of their former selves.

2006 – BRAZIL (2002 champions) – quarter-finalists

The only defending champions of the century to get out of a group stage, Brazil beat Croatia, Australia and Japan in a convincing opening phase. But after beating Ghana in the round of 16 they were thoroughly underwhelming as a rejuvenated France beat them thanks to an Henry goal in the quarter-final. 

TOURNAMENT ODDS: France 7/1, Denmark 28/1, Australia 500/1, Tunisia 750/1

THE AZZURRI HAVE NOT WON A KNOCKOUT GAME SINCE THEIR 2006 TRIUMPH
THE AZZURRI HAVE NOT WON A KNOCKOUT GAME SINCE THEIR 2006 TRIUMPH

2010 – ITALY (2006 champions) – group exit

The Azzurri recalled World Cup-winning head coach Marcello Lippi after Roberto Donadoni’s two-year spell in charge ended in 2008, but it did nothing for their fortunes in South Africa. They had to come from behind to claim 1-1 draws against Paraguay and New Zealand which kept their hopes alive, but a crazy 3-2 loss to Slovakia booked them an early flight home. Italy’s post-title slump was to last much longer than a single group phase, though, with another group exit in 2014 followed by qualification failures in 2018 and 2022.

2014 – SPAIN (2010 champions) – group exit

This might have been the most dramatic slump of the lot. Defending World Cup winners and back-to-back European champions, La Roja were expected to be back among the contenders in Brazil. But a staggering 5-1 defeat to the Netherlands in Salvador set the tone, and after a 2-0 reverse to Chile in game two they were already eliminated. Their 3-0 victory over Australia was one of the most hollow successes any major nation has experienced.

FRANCE STAGE OF ELIMINATION: Group stage: 6/1, Last 16: 7/2, Quarter-Final: 12/5, Semi-Final: 4/1, Runner-Up: 6/1, Winners: 6/1

2018 – GERMANY (2014 champions) – group exit

After an opening loss to Mexico, many thought Germany had escaped first-round humiliation when Toni Kroos’ 95th-minute free-kick had completed a comeback win over Sweden. But that simply made their 2-0 loss to South Korea in their last act of Group F all the more astonishing. Needing a win to progress, die Mannschaft stretched their efforts to the point that Kim Young-gwon and Son Heung-min made hay with a pair of injury-time goals.

GROUP C FIXTURES:

Tue 22 Nov (1pm GMT): Denmark 9/20, Tunisia 13/2 (draw 16/5)

Tue 22 Nov (7pm): France 2/9, Australia 11/1 (draw 5/1)

Sat 26 Nov (10am): Tunisia 9/5, Australia 17/10 (draw 2/1)

Sat 26 Nov (4pm): France 19/20, Denmark 3/1 (draw 23/10)

Wed 30 Nov (3pm): Australia 5/1, Denmark 8/15 (draw 3/1)

Wed 30 Nov (3pm): Tunisia 10/1, France 3/10 (draw 19/5)

*18+ | BeGambleAware | Odds Subject to Change

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