French tipped to top Group C ahead of Denmark, Australia and Peru

France has options, too many perhaps. Especially up front where the dilemma is who to leave out. And that is without Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema, who continues to be overlooked by coach Didier Deschamps.

How other national coaches must envy Deschamps, who has a forward department bursting with skill, speed and goals. Fans will be unforgiving if he does not get the most out of the finest collection of attacking talent France has enjoyed in a tournament.

France has outstanding players elsewhere, including Hugo Lloris in goal, Raphael Varane in defense and Paul Pogba in midfield. However, France still concedes soft goals and coping with the pressure of expectation remains a problem.

Topping Group C will give France momentum, with only Denmark a serious threat. But a second-place group finish could see doubts creeping back in.

Here is a closer look at the France team:

Coach

After the disappointment of losing the European Championship final at home to Portugal two years ago, Deschamps has a settled squad with experience and excitement like forward Kylian Mbappe. Given the talent at his disposal, French fans expect at least a semifinal place in Russia. With a contract until 2020, Deschamps has the chance to emulate his achievements as France’s captain when Les Bleus won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000.

Goalkeepers

Hugo Lloris is the undisputed first choice. He remains as agile as ever on his line and unflappable on crosses.

However, Lloris has made a couple of errors for Tottenham and France in recent games, letting in a very sloppy goal against Colombia and getting lobbed from the halfway line against Sweden during qualifying.

Backup Steve Mandanda has made 26 appearances for France and is a fine shot-stopper, but is also prone to big lapses in concentration.

Defenders

Deschamps will no longer have a headache choosing between Raphael Varane, Laurent Koscielny and Samuel Umtiti for his centre half pairing.

This is because Koscielny picked an injury and was ruled out of the World Cup.

Midfielders

As usual, all eyes will be on Paul Pogba. This is his chance to end the debate as to whether he is truly world class by leading France to victory.

He has had a difficult season for Manchester United, however, with coach Jose Mourinho losing patience.

But Deschamps remains fiercely loyal and protective of Pogba, even though he has yet to fully repay his manager’s faith in him.

Pogba’s lack of tactical discipline sees him often pushing up too much when Deschamps prefers him to stay back more.

N’Golo Kante is a sure starter in the holding role. Blaise Matuidi’s consistent season with Juventus may be enough to earn him a place alongside Pogba and Kante.

Forwards

Expect nothing different here in terms of who starts. Deschamps will go with his trusted partnership of Antoine Griezmann and Olivier Giroud.

It just depends what formation he chooses. In a 4-4-2, he can use both as his centre forwards and complement them with the scorching pace of 19-year-old Kylian Mbappe down the right flank.