World Cup 2014 Preview – France

Ranked #17 in FIFA's World Rankings, France are hoping for a deep run this World Cup.

In my opinion, this squad is one of the most underrated teams that qualified for the World Cup. Not many "experts" are terribly high on this team, but my opinion is that this team is extremely strong and are led by some great players, starting with Franck Ribéry. Ribéry is a superbly talented left winger and a great leader on the pitch. He possesses top class speed, great foot skills, and has a knack of sneaking behind defenders and making long runs to set up easy goals. Ribéry plays for club superpower Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga (German Premier League), and is often considered one of the best players in the world, being in consideration for the Ballon d'Orr with soccer stars Christiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

Karim Benzema is also an important piece to this French squad, being their most prominent scoring option, along with having the skill set to play out wide opposite of Ribéry. Benzema brings great experience and talent for the French side, playing a critical role for club superpower Real Madrid in La Liga. Opposing defenders will need to be quite aware of Benzema's presence on the pitch, or he will easily make them pay for being complacent.

My prediction: France received a favorable draw, in my opinion, being placed in a group with just one top 10 international team (Switzerland), and they match up well with the other two teams of Group E, Ecuador and Honduras. France advance to the knockout round by finishing 2nd, just behind Switzerland.