France vs Colombia
There’s only one way to overcome major disappointments.
That is to win football games…and lots of them!
France have gone some way to achieving that over the past 18 months but—after the disappointment of losing the Euro 2016 final on home soil where they were overwhelming sports betting favourites having knocked out world champions Germany in the last four—only one achievement will truly help them bounce back.
That is a successful World Cup in Russia this summer.
Betting odds place them amongst the favourites, but manager Didier Deschamps, a World Cup-winning captain 20 years ago, knows they have to live up to expectations more.
As Les Bleus prepare to welcome Colombia to the Stade de France, it could be reasonably argued that the South Americans may offer more of a challenge than the French will face in a group which has seen them paired with Australia, Denmark and Peru as first-round opponents in June.
Colombia’s most recent outing last autumn was a victory in China, yet came on the back of a five-match winless run.
However, it should not be forgotten La Tricolor have also qualified for the summer spectacle and have scored plenty of goals along the way.
They produced their best ever showing at a major final in 2014 when they were narrowly defeated by hosts Brazil. And in coach Jose Pekerman, they have an astute boss who has been crowned South American coach of the year three times in the past six years alone.
Like most international friendlies, the result of this week’s encounter matters little.
What does matter is the first set of fine-tuning for two nations before the big event in June.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect will be to see how Paul Pogba—currently struggling for form at Manchester United—and new call-up Ousmane Dembele, who is easing into form at Barcelona, translate their club performances to the national side.
First and foremost though, this is not about personalities but of two aspirational countries setting out their stall in readiness for when it really matters.
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