PARIS
As the French national football team – Les Bleus – arrived on Tuesday at their base camp in Ribeirao Preto, Brazil, the French public seem to be quietly optimistic about their team's chances in the World Cup.
According to a poll conducted by the French Institute of Public Opinion and published by I-Télé, thirty-four per cent of respondents see the team making the quarter-finals.
Twenty-eight per cent believe Les Blues are capable of reaching the knockout stages of the tournament.
Les Bleus will begin the competition in Group E on June 15 in Porto Alegre by playing Honduras, followed by Switzerland on June 20 in Salvador de Bahia and finally Ecuador 25 in Rio de Janeiro.
Only 12 per cent of the poll participants said the French team will be eliminated in the first round.
The poll was conducted from a sample of 952 people on Friday and Saturday, before Les Bleus’ demolition of Jamaica last Sunday in Lille (8-0) and a draw against Paraguay (1-1).
Les Bleus squad preview:
Coach Didier Deschamps captained France to a World Cup victory in 1998. Now, 16 years later, he hopes to guide them to another win as manager. Undeterred by Franck Ribery's forfeit due to injury, Deschamps has tried to build a solid team unit that includes a host of talent, including Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema and Juventus’ enthusiastic midfielder Paul Pogba.
France failed to qualify for the knock-out stage in the 2010 World Cup and are better remembered for their infamous strike, refusing to leave the bus for practice to protest against striker Nicolas Anelka's expulsion from the team for insulting then-coach Raymond Domenech.
Goalkeepers: Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur), Stephane Ruffier (Saint-Etienne), Mickael Landreau (Bastia)
Defenders: Mathieu Debuchy (Newcastle United), Lucas Digne (Paris Saint-Germain), Patrice Evra (Manchester United), Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal), Eliaquim Mangala (Porto), Bacary Sagna (Arsenal), Mamadou Sakho (Liverpool), Raphael Varane (Real Madrid)
Midfielders: Yohan Cabaye (Paris Saint-Germain), Blaise Matuidi (Paris Saint-Germain), Rio Mavuba (Lille), Paul Pogba (Juventus), Moussa Sissoko (Newcastle United), Mathieu Valbuena (Olympique de Marseille), Morgan Schneiderlin (Southampton)
Forwards: Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), Olivier Giroud (Arsenal), Antoine Griezmann (Real Sociedad), Loic Remy (Newcastle United), Remy Cabella (Montpellier)
Coach: Didier Deschamps
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